But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before Him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. Jer 20:11 (NLT)
Jeremiah was an unpopular prophet. The message God had given him to speak to the children of Israel were warnings of where their unbelief would lead them. As on many other days in times past, Jeremiah delivered another warning laden message from the Lord that angered Chief Priest Pashhur. In-fact Pashhur, whose heart had turned somewhat away from God, was so enraged by Jeremiah’s prophecy that he had him arrested, whipped and put in stocks. He released Jeremiah the next day, but received his own prophecy of warning from him in return.
You have to admire Jeremiah. A prophet to a deaf generation. A generation that ignored and turned their backs on God. Jeremiah was often persecuted because of his stand for righteousness and the message he carried to the people from the Lord. In spite of his unpopularity and the persecutions he suffered, he kept on going, he kept on delivering the word of God. He did not shrink back.
After this experience with Pashhur, he writes a long complaint to the Lord about his troubles (can you blame the man? ha!), and in the middle of that complaint, he makes this beautiful and powerful statement about God. No matter where Jeremiah was or who he stood before, the Lord stood with him like a great and mighty warrior, enabling him to deliver the prophecy entrusted to him.
If you are being persecuted or attacked today, or you've found yourself in a challenging situation because of what God has asked you to do, be encouraged that God stands with you. And he doesn’t stand there limp and uninterested, but at attention, ready for battle, strong and mighty. He empowers and graces you for whatever it is He asked you to do.
So take courage, stand tall, and keep on moving forward. The reality is that the ‘Pashhur’s’ in your world need Jesus and that our battle is not “against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world” as Eph 6:12 says. So stay the course, find your strength in Jesus and continue to express His light and love in the world around you.
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