I said,
Jeremiah 5:19 NET
“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach!
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart!
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet;
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!
Jeremiah had seen a vision of the destruction coming to Judah and Jerusalem. And this verse captures a part of his response. The fate awaiting his friends, family, and fellow Jews was more than he could bear. It left him in great anguish.
One consequence of his anguish over them was the need to cry out. To warn them of their impending doom. To do whatever he could to turn them from the path they were on. Attempting to turn their hearts to God and spare them from the coming destruction.
What Difference Would It Make?
I wonder what a difference it would make today if, as believers, we really took to heart the fate of those facing destruction because of their unbelief. If we really and truly believed that the person next to me was subject to the wrath of God, would it not change how I interacted with them?
I personally find Jeremiah’s words here convicting. I do believe, at least intellectually, that many of the people I know are on the path to destruction. But do I have the anguish that Jeremiah expressed for them? I am ashamed to admit that I often do not. My intellectual belief in a coming judgment seldom influences how I view and interact with others. But it should.
This is not to say that I need to preach “hellfire and brimstone” to the lost that I know. I feel no real calling to that. But it should cause me to share with them the love of Christ more consciously. To draw them into a personal relationship with Christ. And to have an urgency in doing so.
“Lord, give me a vision of what awaits the lost, to have an anguish in my heart for them, and to share with them the love of Christ, seeking to rescue them from the coming judgment.”
