Jeremiah 37:15 The officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.
Jeremiah’s experience of being falsely accused of wrongdoing and severely punished unjustly is a sobering reminder that doing what is right, following God, does not make us immune from troubles or from persecution. As in Jeremiah’s case, however, it does not have to stop us from continuing in our faith journey.
Even after being freed from prison, Jeremiah's troubles did not end. The next chapter of Jeremiah's story tells us that "Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken." (Jeremiah 38:28).
What strikes me about the account of Jeremiah’s troubles is that very fact – he had lots of trials he had to suffer through.
Jeremiah was a faithful, diligent prophet of God, willing to obey every command he received from God. We want to see him successful and rewarded for his diligence in obedience, but what he experienced was anything but success.
He was punished by his own country’s leaders for truthfully prophesying the fall of the nation to the Babylonians, placed in a mud pit for punishment.
Even after being brought out of that, he had to live through the siege of Jerusalem and all the trails that went along with it. He did not have an easy life even though he had obeyed and served God, but he did see God carry him through those trials.
That is my reminder for myself.
I will always have God with me, taking care of me,
even if people do not like or agree with what God leads me to do or say. It is up to me to remain faithful to Him no matter what happens.
I take heart in Jeremiah’s example of faithfulness under duress.
No comments:
Post a Comment