I Could Not

Jeremiah gives us a very sincere personal confession in Jeremiah 20:9. It is easy to get discouraged as a believer. Evidently, he had become depressed because of the persecution from those around him. He decided to stop speaking about the Lord and delivering His Word to the people. However, the word of the Lord was like a fire in his bones, so he could not hold it back.

All believers are not prophets or preachers. We do not all have a ministry or witness that is out in front of people or speaking to crowds. However, God intends for every believer to be a witness.(Acts 1:8) In fact, we are witnesses, either good ones or bad ones. A true believer will have the same experience as Jeremiah had, if he or she tries to keep from telling others about the Lord. We can't do it.

The Bible is clear. God chastens or punishes His children. If we are a believers, we are salt and light to the world. If we reject what God tells us to do to spread the truth and make disciples, He will discipline us in some way. It may not be a fire in our bones, but we will be so uncomfortable, that we have to do something. God is a Good Father, and He can do nothing less for His children.

Therefore, if we don't have any desire to share the Lord with those around us, and we are not experiencing God's displeasure over our disobedience, we are probably not God's children. I suppose, it could be that we have hardened our hearts so much over the years that we are numb to the Lord, but we will still see the lack of His blessings and the discipline of the Lord in our lives, because God never gives up on accomplishing His mission to take the Good News to the whole world.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 21-23.