October 5

Jer. 4:19-6:14; Col. 1:21-2:7; Psalm 77:1-20; Prov. 24:23-25

Jeremiah writes that the defeat of Jerusalem will come. “I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry” (Jer. 4:19b).

Imagine Jeremiah’s pain. He sees what is coming for his people. He knows what will happen to them if they refuse to obey the Lord. He is on a tightwire stretched out between two worlds. He knows the truth and he speaks the truth; the people will not listen to him, nor will they believe the truth that he speaks.

What is he to do? Shall he continue with his fruitless appeals? Should he just give up?

What do you face in your life that is a continuing wall of opposition? Where do you find yourself again and again trying to explain truth to one who does not want to hear it and does not believe? I spoke again and again with dear ones who were planning to divorce. “Nothing good comes from divorce,” I said. “Divorce won’t make anything better. Stick it out and work together,” I said.

But I was up against a wall. Neither one could or, perhaps, would hear me. I understand in a small measure what Jeremiah’s pain is. He knows the truth; he knows what is ahead—he has seen it, literally. God has revealed to him what the future will hold for the Nation of Judah. And it is awful. Judah will be taken captive by an “ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand” (Jer. 5:15). This ancient nation will devour Judah (vs. 17).

And yet Jeremiah is unable to move his people. They simply will not hear him. They are determined to disobey the Lord God and he is helpless to change their minds. I was unable to move my friends; they chose divorce.

So what does Jeremiah do in the face of such opposition? And what should we learn from Jeremiah about how to face opposition to God’s ways?

First, Jeremiah persists. He doesn’t give up. He speaks for God for his whole life and ministry, about fifty years. And secondly, Jeremiah knows the truth and he speaks the truth about God and His ways. And thirdly, he continues to follow God. Though his heart is broken by the disobedience of his people, he himself continues to love and follow God.

Some great principles we can apply. We can determine that we will believe God’s truth and speak up for it whether or not others listen to us. Basically, you’ll see as we read through Jeremiah that no one listened to him. He preached his whole life, he spoke truth his whole life, yet no one listened. And secondly, we can know truth, too, and speak for it. We know truth by knowing God through His Word. That is why we read the Bible, and in particular, The One Year Bible. We have to know His truth to speak it. And we learn it by reading and pondering and applying the Bible to our lives. And then, lastly, we keep on following. Yes, our hearts are broken when people choose to divorce, when people are adulterous, when they lie and steal, when they refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior, but we keep on following the Truth. We aren’t deterred by the unbelief all around us.

“Lord, keep us reading Truth, speaking Truth and living Truth in the face of an unbelieving culture. May we be in some small measure like Jeremiah, who cared more about Your Truth and Your Word than he did about himself and his success and even his own safety. Thank you that you are worthy of such devotion. Amen.”

- Nell Sunukjian

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