If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. Jeremiah 20:9 – While strange to think of a biblical prophet like this, we see in this chapter Jeremiah did not want this calling on his life. Proclaiming the destruction of his people was a heavy burden for his soft heart to bear, and then the public humiliation and abuse that came from his people as a result just broke Jeremiah. In our verse above the prophet even admits that there are times he considered stepping away from this calling. He says he’ll stop talking about God, he won’t even mention his name anymore. While tempting for Jeremiah, such a path was impossible for him to take. The message God put in Jeremiah’s heart was like a fire in his bones that was raging to get out. As exhausting as telling the message was, it would be exponentially more exhausting trying to hold in what was raging to get out. For us, we too can look at the life of following God as exhausting to deal with. We think like Jeremiah did, we’ll just stop mentioning God and no more live our lives in God’s name. Yet for the believer such a life ought to be impossible. The Gospel ought to be like a raging fire within us seeking to get out, and trying to hold it in should be more wearisome than sharing it. Why then might that not be so in your life today? Do you feel a burden on your heart to share the message of God to others? If not, we should be asking why not. For every believer has the same calling to share the Gospel. If that raging flame has turned into a smoldering ember, what may be in our life right now causing our fire for the work of God to be lessening? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3250
Question To Ponder: What is something we can do to fan this flame to grow?
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