"But if I say, 'I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,'
His word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot."
Jeremiah 20:9
Jeremiah had just been beaten to a bloody pulp. Again he had spoken the words the Lord had given him, and again he had suffered for it. If that weren't enough, before the blood had even dried, he was seized and put in the stocks.
Left shivering in the chill of the night, weak from lost blood and stiff from the position he was in, Jeremiah was consumed by the injustice of it all.
As dawn broke, they released him from the stocks. Jeremiah again delivered the Word of the Lord, and then he stalked off.
Back in his house, weakly wiping at the crusty blood on his head, Jeremiah cried out to the Lord.
"Why, God?! Why?! You have tricked me! I am the laughing stock of the town! All I get for my labors are insults and bruises."
And then, deep in his heart, Jeremiah knew why. "But if I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak any more in His name,'" he sighed. "His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
This is my prayer for this blog, and for everything I write.
Lord, give me Your words to write. I give my hands to compose whatever You say. May each word bring glory to Your name and point people to You. Let no obstacle--be it ridicule, abuse, or my own laziness--ever cause me to keep Your holy word to myself.
I cry out with Jeremiah, "Your Word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
