journey onWord with us

Tired people are everywhere. If you combine the pace of life with the emotions of life, and the people who dominate our lives, it is easy to see why being tired is a natural part of our existence. When was the last time you sat around debating what to do with your empty schedule? Can you remember a recent time when there were not frustrating emotions, or people consuming your day?  A natural result of all the energy expended is the effect it has on the spiritual dimension of life. Spiritual exhaustion will manifest itself in feelings of frustration (at others, and the Lord), faith that is weakened, and a general malaise about the most important area of life. Although, I cannot change your world, I would like to give you hope through the life of someone who lived an especially hard life. Take a look with me at the prophet Jeremiah.

You may have read the book in Scripture that bears his name. He was known as the “weeping prophet”. To be honest, the book of Jeremiah is a hard book for me to read. There is a sense of the darkness created by the people who continually disobeyed God. Jeremiah prophesied to this group of people (Judah), that lost the blessings of God. He denounced the people for their sins, and announced the seventy-year captivity they would face. How would you and I handle being a prophet that had to continually deliver such a hard message?  He obviously was not very popular, and from my reading experience, Jeremiah’s life was a weary existence. But through it all, he obeyed God!

By comparison, our pace of life, and the frustrating emotions and people who drain us, pale to that of Jeremiah’s story. While it was surely not devoid of moments of weakness, it is amazing that Jeremiah stood firm against the wickedness of his day. God’s words of hope to him were recorded in chapter 1, verse 8 …

“Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

The same truth, in almost exactly the same words is given at the end of chapter 1. When God says He is with someone, He is! Through all that Jeremiah went through, God was present and in control. In the Father’s design, Jeremiah was given a tough journey.  One that would make any of us weary. But only eternity will tell how useful he was to the Father’s cause.

We all have fingerprint-type journeys, no two are exactly alike.  The events and experiences in our lives can sometimes cause us to question God, leave us spiritually confused, and asking “why is life so hard?” God promised Jeremiah that he would be with him, and in Christ we too can rest in the words found in Hebrews 13:5b-6.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

It is so easy to get tired, and distance ourselves from doing all that God has chosen for us to accomplish. But if we choose to act obediently, I believe that eternity will give evidence of how useful we were to the Father’s cause in, and through those times. If you are a bit weary today, think about Jeremiah, and remember God is with you, and is always in control!