This Is What You May Get For Obeying The LORD?

Jere. 26:8-11 - When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "You must die!" Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD saying, 'This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate, without inhabitant'…. Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, "A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing."  NASU 
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• Obedience To God's Will Can Sometimes Be Painful 

I'm not quite sure where the teaching came from that says once you become a servant of God everything in your life was going to be a piece of cake, all of your prayers would be answered the way you wanted, and tough times would now be a thing of the past.
 
I can say without a doubt that Jeremiah was a man of God and he discovered that serving God brought with it some very painful situations.
 
He was a Prophet of God, called to be a prophet before he was even born. Jere. 1:4-5 -Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." NASU
 
I can guarantee you that he didn't believe his life was a piece of cake because he was a servant of God. 

• Obedience To God Can Be Confusing 

Having read the book of Jeremiah the constant thought that crossed my mind was this, "I would not want to be a prophet of God." This was one of the most thankless jobs on the face of the earth. 
 
You obey God and the end result is suffering for you. This is what happened in Jeremiah's life.
 
The very people Jeremiah was sent to help were the ones that wanted him dead.
 
The people the prophets were sent to help would be the ones who either made their life very miserable or they killed them.
 
Here is a conversation Jesus had with the scribes and Pharisees about killing the prophets sent by God - (Mt 23:30-31 - 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' "So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets." NASU)
 
Jeremiah was obedient to God, and it caused him a lot of grief.
 
You may be a servant of God today and have lots of grief. If you do, don't let your thoughts get you to doubt your calling. Don't be led down the path that God must not care about you or He certainly would not allow this suffering in your life.
 
He called Jeremiah and told him exactly what to preach and who to preach this message too. Jeremiah did exactly as he was told and he was hated by the priests and the false prophets. Their hatred was so great they wanted him to be killed. 

• Do You Have Any Enemies? 

Now I don't mean people who won't talk to you any more, or won't invite you to their parties.
 
I mean do you have any enemies like Jeremiah? They want you dead and have a plan to end your life. The answer to that question for most of us would be "No".
 
When I read what Jeremiah was going through I laugh now at what I had to endure in the ministry. I had people lie about me, misquote me, and God forbid the false accusations about my motives.
 
Hello!
 
Could you imagine me sitting down with Jeremiah and telling him how hard my ministry was?
 
I can actually see this person who I visualize as Jeremiah rolling on the ground laughing. When he stops laughing he says to me, "Really, that is all that was done to you? They didn't try to kill you at anytime?
 
Jere. 38:10 - Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take thirty men from here under your authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies." NASU
 
They were literally trying to kill this man of God. Why? He was doing what God had asked him to do. 

• Life Lesson 

If you're suffering in life and it is because you are doing what God's Word has asked you to do accept your suffering as graciously as possible?
 
You may not receive any rewards here on earth, but the rewards God promises us in heaven will make us forget about all the suffering we have endured while here on earth.
 
Think On This:
 
As long as your conscience is your friend, don't be concerned about your enemies.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word