Jeremiah's Reluctance

If you happen to read the Student Bible NIV introduction to the book of the prophet Jeremiah,

the following description of Jeremiah's insecure attitude is offered - I think it's amazing - "Jeremiah felt frightened and insecure - but he burned with a message". Isn't that most of us? It's me, I'm afraid - no pun intended. But really, aren't we often anxious about the message we carry within us? Certainly some of us aren't among other self-disclosing Christians, but "out there" I mean - where we've been told all sorts of things about the "world".

Jeremiah experienced all manner of worry, fear and reluctancy as he obeyed God. There's that wonderful passage in the book of Jeremiah where he admits - well, actually, he complains. . . "But if I say, I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot," (Jeremiah 20:9).

That's the paradox . . . we feel fear, anxiety, feelings of insufficiency, but simultaneously, we have the call to proclaim, serve, minister and BE the body of Christ. Here's where the dependency on God is everything. The power to be, "servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God," (1 Cortinthians 4:1b) - can only come as a result of the Holy Spirit's empowering and guidance. It may also seem to us that God's has "wooed" us or has pulled the rug from right under us. Jeremiah utilizes a much more drastic term - "deceived" (Jeremiah 20:7a). God deceives? The complaint is visceral and unexamined, but nonetheless - very real.

God, however, will always be with us - even in the midst of the storm. It seems to me, though, that the nature of the storm will never be easy to ignore. We will most often be subject to the emotional roller coaster ride evident in our reactions to life's deep challenges and profound difficulties - in short - tribulations. The NIV introduction provides the following reflection - "...no one, not even his chosen messengers, will escape suffering. God's presence will make them strong enough to face it."

So, how does this inform our sense of call and our prayer ministry? More on this in part II . . . I'm off to the Lighthouse.