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“O LORD, thou hast deceived me (you have induced or persuaded me – to believe in you and to represent you), and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed (I am gripped by you and cannot shake away from your Word): I am a laughingstock daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him (of God), nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with holding it in, indeed I could not.” – Jeremiah 20:7-9

Jeremiah is often called “the weeping prophet,” and for good reason. He just happened to be the one charged with the unpleasant task of signaling the final warnings to Israel of impending national destruction. He was there in Jerusalem when it happened and later penned a funeral dirge for the city (the book of Lamentations). All that to say that he was given a very burdensome task. He was a famine-time prophet, not one of an abundant harvest. Early on in Jeremiah’s ministry the LORD told him that no one was going to accept his message (7:27). Imagine being called by God to a ministry and then after you’re settled into it you get assurance – from God – that no one is going to care at all what you have to say. Instead of giving heed to his message and honoring Jeremiah, the people despised him, ridiculed and mocked him on a daily basis and several times tried to kill him. 

Perhaps you may feel like a Jeremiah? You’ve been doing God’s will – maybe not perfectly, but humbly and to the best of your ability – but there seems to be little to no fruit from your labors; it seems like no one is even taking notice of what you’re doing for the Lord; it seems like no one cares (except the people who are unhappy with you – they make it known that they don’t appreciate you). Maybe there are even people coming after you physically or in some other way trying to destroy your life and ministry? It seems like the more you try to do what’s right, the more you are despised for it. You feel like Paul who concluded, “and I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved” (2 Corinthians 12:15). 

Jeremiah was a champion as far as courage goes. He stood in the midst of an arrogant, hardened mob of people and daily mourned out God’s message of condemnation. He was a weeping, hell-fire & brimstone preacher. He had a backbone of steel. However, he was only a man, a man with a tender heart, and his resolve was challenged one day… 

On this occasion Jeremiah gathered some Israelite leaders together. During the meeting he smashed a clay pot on the ground and warned them that the LORD was going to smash the nation of Israel and break them so that they could not be repaired. Afterwards, Jeremiah went up to the temple (the busy public square) and began to proclaim that Yahweh was going to bring evil on the city because of their wickedness. While Jeremiah was preaching, Pashur the priest’s son walked up and delivered to Jeremiah some kind of blow (maybe a punch to the face or gut or something), then locked him in the stocks beside the temple, publicly humiliating him. The next day Pashur released Jeremiah from the stocks, but while he was Jeremiah began again to preach, and told Pashur that all of his friends were going to die by the sword, that he himself would be taken captive to Babylon, and would die and be buried there because he was a false prophet! Wow. So much courage. 

However! The very next lines in the text after this story are the verses at the heading of this chapter. Jeremiah is exhausted. He begins to complain about how difficult his ministry was and then he concludes, “Then I said, I will not make mention of him (of God), nor speak any more in his name” (Jeremiah 20:9). He came to a breaking point (understandably so!) and was entering a major temptation to give up. 

Maybe you are right here, right now. In the past, you had waves of difficulty, but you plunged into them and pretty quickly resurfaced, but this time it feels like you have sunk to the bottom with iron weights tied around you. The circumstances are different. It’s too much. Well, let this passage from Jeremiah remind you that nothing is impossible with God . . . 

Thankfully, on this occasion, Jeremiah did not give in to giving up. His flesh said, “I’m done,” and then his spirit immediately responded, “But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with holding it in, indeed I could not.” What happened?! There was another power working inside of Jeremiah other than his own feeble resolve – the power of God. When Jeremiah became weak, God became strong. When Jeremiah gave up, the LORD raised him up. Jeremiah didn’t quit because he really couldn’t quit. Jeremiah’s calling stretched all the way back into the eons of eternity, it started in the heart of God, and God wasn’t done with him yet. 

Consider Jeremiah’s calling from chapter 1, when he was a young man, “Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:4-5). God planted his Word in Jeremiah’s heart from the womb, it was more native to him than his mother’s milk. Being a prophet wasn’t Jeremiah’s idea, it was his destiny. His ministry didn’t arise from his own ambition, therefore it is not going to fall by his own inhibition. His message was God’s, his tears were God’s, his mission was God’s, and God was not done speaking to Israel yet, so therefore Jeremiah was not done speaking yet. 

Remember who you are – Jeremiah – was why you started doing this. If it did arise out of your own ambition, then may you quit right away! But if your calling is real, then it started in the heart of God before eternity, just like Jeremiah’s did. Remember these Scriptures… The apostle Paul knew from whence his calling was. He said the Lord, “…saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works (or, our ambition), but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9).” “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:” (Galatians 1:15-15). This eternal calling was motivation for Paul to keep going. He was confident about this for other believers as well, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians 1:6). 

God didn’t make a mistake when he called you. He knew exactly what he was doing. All of the events that led up to you calling on Christ for salvation. All of the events that led up to you desiring a certain kind of ministry. All the things in your heart to do for God. None of those things were an accident or happenstance. God made you who you are – with your personality, gifts, temperament, etc. You are where you are at this time in history to do his perfect will. Don’t give up because the road is rough, or because you have stumbled or because you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Focus on him who called you from the beginning. Remember those circumstances when he first called you – whether it was a scripture, or a song, or a sermon, or a deep time of prayer. God hasn’t changed, you have, but I am confident that if you choose to bring your heart and mind back to the Word you heard at the burning bush that it will burn in your heart like a fire and that you will feel no other option than to pursue it. 

His Word Was In My Heart 

Jeremiah said, “I’m done. I’m not going to even make mention of God anymore.” But again, the very next phrase is, “But his word was in mine heart.” He couldn’t get away from it. It was part of his nature. Earlier on in the book he said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts (Jeremiah 15:16).” God planted his Word in Jeremiah from the womb, but then in conscious experience Jeremiah had tasted the unique goodness Word of God and had swallowed it whole. It was part of the fabric of his being. Many other saints in the Scripture spoke of this experience of “eating” the word of God. 

When you became a Christian you didn’t just turn over a new leaf or change your mind about something. You were changed at the core of your being. Jesus said that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. You did this and became partakers of him. You became one with him and he with you. The Spirit of God, his divine nature, came into union with your spirit, thus making you a new creation. No matter where you go from here God is going with you. Not near you, but in you, in all your thoughts and feelings and outlook. You cannot ignore God. He’s so patient and good. He has all the time in the world to bear with you. He is faithful, he promised that he would never leave you nor forsake you. 

You have taken in the Word of God. You’ve studied it, memorized it, lived according to it, rejoiced in it. Remember the unique joy of the Word in your life. 

Something divine, supernatural happens when the believer turns their eyes to heaven in prayer, or becomes calm before the Scriptures. There is a real connection with the eternal One, the Word, and you cannot but help to speak about it. Paul said, “I believed, and therefore have I spoken (2 Corinthians 4:13).” Just like that exceptional restaurant you ate at, or that great show you went to, you want to tell other people about it. Almost every year our family visits Sight and Sound Theaters in Lancaster, PA. In the realm of live theater, especially for Christian based shows, their performances are extraordinarily good, second to none. I recommend to people often to bring their families there because I know the experience is so worth it – even to people who seem like the last people who would be interested in something like a live musical. I believe, therefore I speak about it. You tasted that the LORD was gracious and you spoke about it. Perhaps you spoke about it for a very long time. Return to your first love. You may be in the fog right now. Its ok. Jeremiah was there too. Press through though. Continue to be faithful and then glorify him again. “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works (Psalms 73:25-28).”

True Success 

One more note on Jeremiah about what true success in life is. God was upfront with Jeremiah, “No one is going to believe you. You are going to warn about coming judgment and call the nation to repent, but they are not going to. The judgment will come” (my summary). So, was Jeremiah a failure? The people weren’t saved. They didn’t give heed to his warnings. Obviously God’s heart is for people to repent and avoid judgment. The Lord is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).” He takes no delight in the death of the wicked. However, God also delights in righteousness, judgment and justice. Israel had become corrupt and now it was God’s pleasure to defend his truth and those who were being oppressed. All of this is higher than Jeremiah. What was his part in God’s dealings with this nation, and other nations? His part was simply to be faithful – to be God’s heart and mouth to the people, and Jeremiah did this faithfully. Although Jeremiah’s preaching wasn’t well received, it was nevertheless true. What he said was the faithful Word of God and the prophecies he spoke did come to pass. 

Take the time to think deeply about what you regard as true success. True success is not equivalent to lots of outward signs of people repenting, being converted and mobilized in the work of God. If those things truly happen then it certainly is a sign that God is at work, but God can be at work even through a man or a ministry that appears unsuccessful. For example, God told Moses in the desert to speak to the the rock so water would gush out to quench the thirst of Israel. Moses in his anger disobediently smote the rock, but water still came gushing out. That Rock was Christ and Christ fed his people out there, but God was furious with Moses. He came down hard on him and decided that he would not go in to the promised land. By appearance this was a wonderful success – a day of refreshing and revival – yet it was the worst day of failure for Moses. So we have to be extremely careful about judging on the outward appearance – whether it’s judging other people’s lives or our own lives.

There are very large, exciting churches that are a displeasure to God and there are very small, “unexciting” churches that are choice servants of God. Similarly, there are very large, exciting churches that are a pleasure to God and there are very small, “unexciting” churches that are a displeasure of God. How do we know the difference? We cannot know in an ultimate sense, but we can examine faithfulness to God’s Word or not. Is the Bible being taught in a simple, straightforward manner? Is righteousness being exalted and sin being exposed? Is there church discipline happening? Are people being encouraged to evangelize and be rich in good works? Are the leaders and members humbly walking in love and unity? If so, these are all good signs that God is pleased. The same is true as individuals. If you are striving to conform your life to the Word of God with a humble heart and to do what he calls you to do – he is pleased, whether or not you see the results you are hoping for. You have to get your eyes off of other people. Stop comparing yourself and your works to theirs. Everyone is different, has different gifts and a different calling. If you have been doing what is right with a humble heart then disregard the results. It’s fine to examine the results. Maybe there is a way for you to improve to be more effective in whatever you’re doing, but certainly don’t give up. It got really hard for Jeremiah. It may get hard for you. Let God search your heart. If you have done something wrong, repent of it and make it right. From there though, focus on doing what you know for sure the Lord has called you to do. Leave the results with him and give him time to renew your passion for him and his work. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self (1 Corinthians 4:2-3).” This is what you have to focus on – simply being faithful to your Lord. 

Jeremiah, don’t give up.