SCRIPTURE
If I say: I won't mention Him or speak any longer in His name, His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail. (Jer. 20:9)
OBSERVATION
God chose Jeremiah before he was born (1:5) to be a prophet to the nations calling people back to faith in Him. However, his message was not well received. The bible tells us he became a laughingstock, everyone ridiculed him, the message he proclaimed became a source of disgrace and derision, everyone he trusted watched for his fall. He was even forbidden to marry (16:2).
Talk about a tough job. Yet, the message was so powerful and important that it drove his life and compelled him so much that he couldn't help but preach it. If he held it in it was like a fire burning in his heart and his bones. It was the passion deep within that was God's very purpose for him.
APPLICATION
I have a greater message than even Jeremiah. He called the people to repentance to avoid God's judgement and exile. I have a message of grace that comes through Jesus. How much more should this be a fire burning in my bones so that even in the face of opposition and derision I am compelled to let it out. The message (God reconciling the world through Jesus) needs to be the driving factor in my life. It needs to be the thing that motivates me and keeps me going. I can be tempted to hold it in. If I try to please people, or fulfill a need to be liked, I may compromise the message. If I'm faithful to the message I may not necessarily please others or be liked. One is external, the affection of others. One is internal, the fire within. I need Jeremiah's passion to proclaim the message of God.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for the message of the cross. Fan the fire within as the motivation for your calling in my life..
