Jeremiah 15:19-21

19 Therefore thus says the LORD:
“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;
And they will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the LORD.
21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Jeremiah 15:19-21 NKJV

Jeremiah has allowed his discouragement to move him away from God. The constant rejection of the people to the messages God has shared through him has evidently affected his relationship to God. God does not reject him and write him off. God reminds Jeremiah that he needs to move back toward God. Perhaps Jeremiah has been tempted to speak words to the people that they want to hear and that will cause them to think better of him and not want to kill him. It is a danger that I'm sure is common among God's spokesmen, to speak words that people want to hear. They then speak nice words back to you and everybody feels good. The only problem is when these smooth, pleasant, words are not the message God wants spoken. The message God wanted Jeremiah to speak were not pleasant for those who were to be the recipients. The sins of Judah were leading them to destruction and most had fallen so far away from God that they didn't even admit that they were sinning. Whether their minds had grown so used to the vile that they could not recognize the precious, or whether they had wholly embraced the vile, they were in need of God to rework their hearts. God had chosen Jeremiah to be the person who pointed out the need for repentance and who told them the way that they needed to go. Jeremiah did not need to get closer to the peoples viewpoint, he needed to stand close to God, speak God's message, and those with honest hearts would come to Jeremiah and embrace God's message. God reminded Jeremiah that Jeremiah needed to stand with God, and God would make him a fortified bronze wall that could not be overcome. God would save Jeremiah from those who attempted to stop the message God wanted shared. Jeremiah would be delivered from the wicked and redeemed from the grip of the terrible. In his discouragement it might seem that the evil was too strong, but God assures Jeremiah that God is stronger than any evil and He will make Jeremiah a bronze wall against the wicked.
I too become discouraged. I am weak and I can allow myself to be diverted from the mission that God has given me. God calls me to return to him. Come, He says, stand with me. Don't allow your mind to become so muddled that you cannot discern between the vile and the precious. Stand with Me and I will show you the precious. Let the true word be your focus and I will make you strong. Those who attempt to destroy you will not prevail against you, for I will save you. Jesus is the cure for discouragement. When my eyes leave myself and behold Him, then my discouragement will fade away in the power of His love. I fail because I care more about myself and what others think about me than I do about the truth that God is sharing with the world. Right thinking will lead me to see the right path that God puts before me. I cannot control what others do, I can only choose to stand with God and follow the path He sets before me.


Lord,
Help me today to return to you. Help me to accept Your love and Your strength in my heart. I am weak, you have promised strength. Put a new heart and a new spirit within me today, with new intentions that will bear fruit of acts of service for You. Help me to keep my eye on the precious and to become like the precious Jesus, standing with You and sharing Your love with those you want. Help me to look at Your life and Your truth and Your message and open my heart to be willing to allow You guide me in all that I do. Thank You for Your message of hope in Jeremiah.