The Burning

 January 11, 2022

I’ve been retired for almost ten years now, and although I thoroughly enjoy the more relaxed pace and lessened responsibilities, I still resonate with Jeremiah. He inspires me. Right from the start, God told him what he was to do, and added, “They aren’t going to listen to you.” In other words, by most of the metrics we use, Jeremiah’s ministry would be a failure. He would have no great following, no streets named after him, no monuments to his memory.

Knowing all that from the very beginning of his calling, he still pushed on, never giving up, never throwing in the towel. What kept him going? He tells us in 15:16–“Your words we’re found, and I ate them.  And your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by your name, O LORD God of hosts.” Jeremiah knew who he was and whose he was, because God’s word was so deeply planted in his heart.

God’s word has a way of making things happen. They are life and light, and in 20:9, Jeremiah reveals how it moved him: “Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.” That’s how I feel! I love working with my bees; I love riding my sidecar motorcycle; I love playing my bass; but none of those things fills the empty place inside me that proclaiming God’s Word filled. That’s why I write; it’s why I prepare for Cuba even when getting there is difficult. The fire sometimes burns with intensity, sometimes it just smolders, but it never goes out. For that, I am grateful tonight.