Be a Jeremiah

Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. He was not popular; in fact, the message God gave him was not what the people wanted to hear—messages of repentance and warnings of punishment. Yet thousands of years later some of the most encouraging and most quoted words were from this very prophet. 

Jeremiah 29:11–14

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah spoke these words during the Babylonian exile—a terrible time in his people’s history. I love the words that follow immediately after:

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.

This passage holds profound meaning for me. It gives me hope for those I love who have wandered and turned their backs on God. He is always there, waiting—just as He was for His people. And the proof is in the next verse:

I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.

And in 1948, in a single day, He did just that—He brought His people back home!

I am encouraged by Jeremiah. He was a young man, likely only a teenager, when he first delivered God’s message of repentance. Many years later, as an old man, he spoke the messages of hope we still cling to today. Jeremiah lived a life of severe persecution; even his own family turned against him. Yet his words live on thousands of years later. He served God faithfully, even when it cost him everything, in a culture that had abandoned God.

BE A JEREMIAH!!

His words in chapter 20 spoke so loudly to me today. They encourage me and push me forward. I will continue to listen to God’s call on my heart—to speak His words of life, love, and forgiveness, no matter the cost. Because even if it costs me everything, knowing that even one person I love gains eternal life because of it… it is worth all of it. ❤️

Jeremiah 20:8–9 (NIV)

So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore 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.