Several years ago I taught through the book of Jeremiah in my Sunday School class. As always, the teacher always learns more than the student (and usually needs to!). One passage in particular stood out to me then, and has come to mind today. If you have about 2 minutes, read Jeremiah's words from the New Living Translation:
Jeremiah’s Complaint
From Jeremiah Chapter 20
7 O Lord, you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me. 8 When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the Lord have made me a household joke. 9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it! 10 I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you test those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. 13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For though I was poor and needy, he rescued me from my oppressors.
14 Yet I curse the day I was born! May no one celebrate the day of my birth. 15 I curse the messenger who told my father, “Good news—you have a son!” 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 because he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.
How many times do we go through these same emotions, from doom and despair and complaining, to praising and worshiping, and then right back to "woe is me!"?
I love that the people written about in Scripture were REAL people. Not one of them was perfect. In fact, most of them were pretty messed up, but one thing I notice about the ones God used most mightily: they were there authentic selves before God. Jeremiah wasn't out to impress God with how much faith he had. He went to God with who he really was. He brought all of who he was to all of who God is. Sometimes I find myself stressing, "Am I praying just the right way?" "What am I doing that is causing me to have so many things go wrong all at the same time?" And other thoughts like this. But then I go back to truth that says that because of His grace, I can approach God boldly in my time of need. (See Hebrews 4:14-16)
I don't have to pretend with Him or perform for Him~If I do, He'll see right through it anyways. I am thankful that I, like Jeremiah, can be a real person with real struggles, real complaints, and real faith. FAITH is all about the one whom you put your trust in; it's not a measure of how strong you are.
Thank you God that you see the real me, and you don't turn away when you do. Thank you that I can come to you just as I am.
And, thank you that you love me right where I am, and that you love me too much to leave me there.
If you've never heard Natalie Grant's song, "The Real Me," you can listen to it here I have it downloaded on my iPhone and I listen to it fairly often. It's a great reminder that God sees, and God loves, the REAL me. I hope it'll be an encouragement to you today as well!
Adapted from and Originally Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2008
