READING:
One-year plan: Jeremiah 36-39, Hebrews 1:1-3:6
Two-year plan: 2 Kings 16:1-17:23, John 11:28-44
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Jeremiah spoke God’s hard word to His people, and the prophet’s obedience cost him his freedom. Falsely accused of deserting to the Chaldeans, Jeremiah found himself in a prison cell. He would later find himself in custody in a guardhouse, followed by imprisonment in a muddy cistern – hardly the lot you might expect for a faithful prophet who repeatedly spoke God’s words. Nevertheless, as one writer put it, “Persecution comes to prophets. In a variety of ways the book of Jeremiah is one long testimony to the cost of prophetic activity.”* The people would not listen to Jeremiah’s words, but he spoke what he knew he needed to speak nonetheless.
All around the world are believers who have some sense of what Jeremiah understood: that following Jesus comes with a cost, sometimes beyond which we North Americans might imagine. What Jeremiah reminds us, though, is significant. God is God, and He always accomplishes His plan. His Word always comes true, even when God’s method and timing are not what we expect. He is a righteous God who also holds His people accountable for their actions. Like God’s people in Jeremiah’s day, we will answer to Him. Thus, it is right and wise to follow Him, to trust His Word and His redeeming love.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: What is your faith costing you today?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, grant me faith to follow You today no matter the cost.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Jeremiah 40-44, Hebrews 3:7-4:16
Two-year plan: 2 Kings 17:24-18:37, John 11:45-57
*Dearman, J. A. (2002). Jeremiah and Lamentations (p. 337). Zondervan Publishing House.
