Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.
Jeremiah 20:9 NET
I will not speak as his messenger anymore.”
But then his message becomes like a fire
locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul.
I grow weary of trying to hold it in;
I cannot contain it.
Jeremiah was a reluctant prophet who felt that God had forced him to be a prophet against his will (Jer. 20:7). His life as a prophet was anything but easy. All those who heard him speak ridiculed and insulted him (Jer. 20:8). And he was beaten and imprisoned several times for delivering the Lord’s message (Jer. 10:1-2). His life was not happy, and his work as a prophet seemed fruitless.
And, as Jeremiah 20:9 expressed, there were times when Jeremiah wanted to abandon his call as a prophet. He did not want to deliver a message that did nothing beyond causing him grief. A message that seemed to have no impact on those who heard it. He wanted to leave the fruitless life of a prophet behind.
But whenever he came to that point, God’s message would become like a fire within him, burning to get out. He would try to ignore it, to resist sharing it with the people of Jerusalem and Judea. But, in the end, he could not resist and would proclaim God’s word.
I suspect that most people who serve the Lord occasionally experience some measure of what Jeremiah expressed here. The service may be challenging. It may not be well received. It may appear to be fruitless. And you may just want to find something else to do.
But can we ever find true peace and joy when we resist God’s call to service? Or will we be like Jeremiah with a fire burning within us? A fire that is only satisfied when we respond to God’s call and faithfully serve our Lord.
