God needed someone to speak for Him. The world was buckling under because the people had forgotten their promise to God. They had forgotten or didn't care that God had said,. "There must be no other gods before you! Do not worship anyone or anything but Me!" And along came Jeremiah! He was to be the prophet of God during that period of time.
Jeremiah was a good prophet and a good man. In Jeremiah 1:16 God said to him, "I will pronounce my judgment on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods, and in worshiping what their hands have made."
The study section of the Bible re. Jeremiah says this: "No group of people liked Jeremiah or listened to him. Yet we can see he successfully completed the work God gave him to do. Success can never be measured by popularity, fame or fortune, for these are momentary measures. God measures our success with the yardsticks of obedience, faithfulness, and righteousness. If we are faithfully doing the work God gives us, we are successful in His eyes."
Jeremiah is a great example of doing what is needed in spite of personal obstacles.
When I was a young mom, I had two daughters within a year's time. As they were growing up, I tried to encourage them to do kind things for one another and for others. But summers grew long as most mothers can tell you, and the girls would come to me and say, "Mom, we can't think of anything to do!"
Our neighbor across the street was dying of multiple sclerosis and sometimes her days grew long, as well. So, I would say, "Why don't you bake a cake for Mrs. Likken?" They might grimace a bit and add, "But we did that not too long ago?" And I'd answer, "Well, I'll bet she liked it so much that she would like another one! "And off they would go to the kitchen.
There is never a time that God can't fill up an empty space in the brain for an idea to be of help to someone. Everyone I know needs someone other than themselves at sometime in their lives! And how else is the world to know that God is alive and well....and in your heart!
Jeremiah had a heart for God. The Study tells us, he had no money. He had no family. He had no friends. He only had the love of the Lord God. And so he obeyed. As we look at the record of what Jeremiah did in his lifetime: he faithfully confronted the leaders and the people of their sin and prophesied both their 70 year captivity in Babylon and their eventual return from exile. He was forcefully taken to Egypt, yet he remained faithful in spite of Jerusalem's destruction. After years of obedience, he became strong and courageous.
To repeat what the Study in my Bible says, "God measures our {yours and mine) success with the yardsticks of obedience, faithfulness, and righteousness. If we are faithfully doing the work God gives us, we are successful in His eyes."
God's eyes are upon us...you and me!
May we be obedient, faithful and righteous,
Jo in MN
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