Jeremiah 20:7–13 ⁷ O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. ⁸ Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Report him! Let’s report him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.” ¹¹ But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. ¹² O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. ¹³ Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.

Jeremiah was placed in stocks for daring to speak against the established religious leaders. It didn’t matter to the leaders that He was speaking God’s Word. The priest didn’t like what Jeremiah said, so they tried to shame him into being quiet. The next day, when he was let go, he remained unmoved, unbowed, unbroken and unbent. He was steadfast in the face of opposition. But this was not his own strength–It was God’s. He recounts God’s goodness in the passage above.

But he also says that he had been deceived, misled and seduced by God. When first called to be a prophet, Jeremiah made excuses. The Lord demanded obedience and promised HIS Word would be authoritative, that people would listen to and respond positively to the message. Jeremiah says here that he has not seen people respond to the Word that way yet, so he complains that he was deceived by God. He recounts the roadblocks and obstacles that he has encountered along the way, the sufferings and hardships he has had to endure. But, as mentioned earlier, he remains steadfast. The reason is that he believes God will keep His promises.

Our Lord has asked us to be faithful and believe that His Word is able to accomplish what He wants it to. He will be with us, it is His strength and power that will accomplish whatever happens. There are “needy” all around, those in need of hearing the Gospel.  We need to rely on him and keep from getting discouraged when we come up against obstacles and roadblocks and hardships.

Later in this chapter, Jeremiah starts to complain. He starts a pity party for himself. Why? He took his eyes off the Lord and looked inward. “Woe is me!” He is grieving over the message he had to proclaim, which would be one of judgment and hopelessness for those who refused to repent and return to the Lord.

Jeremiah’s grief would pass and he would continue to proclaim God’s Word as he had been called to do. He needed to remember that His ministry would not be done in his own strength, anymore than what we are trying to do for God is done in our own strength.

Jeremiah knew God’s goodness and could not keep it to Himself:

Jeremiah 20:9  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.

God’s Word burning in our hearts, wanting to get out, wanting us to share it. That reminds me of this passage:

Luke 24:32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

 The message of Jesus as the one who paid the price for all sin so that everyone can be forgiven and have eternal life is the message that should be burning in our hearts. It is my prayer that all the followers of Jesus would have this kind of heartburn – Our hearts burning within us with the fire of God’s Word. Let that motivate you in your desire to bring more people to Christ.