Scripture:

“So Jeremiah called in Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah dictated and Baruch wrote down on a scroll everything that God had said to him. Then Jeremiah told Baruch, ‘I’m blacklisted. I can’t go into God’s Temple, so you’ll have to go in my place. Go into the Temple and read everything you’ve written at my dictation. Wait for a day of fasting when everyone is there to hear you. And make sure that all the people who come from the Judean villages hear you. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll start praying and God will hear their prayers. Maybe they’ll turn back from their bad lives. This is no light matter. God has certainly let them know how angry he is!’

 

Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. In the Temple of God he read the Message of God from the scroll.” Jeremiah 36:4-8 (MSG)

 Perspective:

Jeremiah was a prophet in Judah, telling the people about God’s pending judgement. God had given him this calling, but everything Jeremiah said tended to be unpopular with the people. It got to the place where he couldn’t even go to the Temple as a prophet and share. His assistant, Baruch, was commissioned with this job. In Jeremiah 36, Baruch had the opportunity to read God’s message to the government officials, and they encouraged him to go into hiding. The king would not be happy with Jeremiah’s message about the destruction that was coming to the nation. Jeremiah 36:24-26 (MSG) says, “Neither the king nor any of his officials showed the slightest twinge of conscience as they listened to the messages read. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah tried to convince the king not to burn the scroll, but he brushed them off. He just plowed ahead and ordered Prince Jerahameel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Jeremiah the prophet and his secretary Baruch. But God had hidden them away.” In the midst of great turmoil and danger, God had graciously put his hand over Jeremiah and Baruch and hidden them. The officials who wanted to harm them couldn’t stand up to God’s protection. While Jeremiah may have wanted to march right into the Temple to declare God’s truth, God was working in a different way to extend Jeremiah’s influence.

 

We can walk through seasons of life where we may feel that God has hidden us away without explanation. We might not be a prophet to a nation announcing pending doom, but we may be a person, like Jeremiah, who is trying to fulfill our calling. What good is a calling if God does not allow us to outwork it in our lives? God is allowing you to outwork it in your life, but it may look different than you had hoped. Instead of a following, you may have fallow ground. What would have made Jeremiah’s life easier? If the people had listened and repented, he wouldn’t have needed to hide. However, he couldn’t control people’s response to his calling, and neither can you or I. It may not make sense to your family or friends on paper. It may include a season where God conceals you in order to position you. Jeremiah’s calling didn’t disappear when he was in hiding. God’s protection simply allowed him to continue writing God’s message. Your calling doesn’t disappear either when it gets difficult, and your concealment during one season may be God’s avenue of positioning you for the next season.

 

Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002.  Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. 

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About Hona Amer

I help people live life to the fullest. Check out my book, Smart Work U. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. In order to receive updates, subscribe below.

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