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Rise AbovIntroduction
Rise AbovIntroduction
Jeremiah was released the next day, emerging with a sentence of his own. He
gave Pashhur a new name: "Terror on Every Side." This name described the
terror Babylon would inflict on Judah, specifically the fate Pashhur would
suffer when God's judgment fell. He would die and be buried outside Israel,
which was considered a judgment, for the Gentile lands were labeled unclean.
But what difference would that make? He had been preaching lies in the name
of God and encouraging idolatry in the temple. So, why not live in a land of
lies and idols, and eventually be buried there?
God wants us to talk to him, even when we are angry, upset, and frustrated.
He wants us to tell the truth. A lot of dishonesty goes on in relationships, even
with God.
People ask me: Is it wrong to be angry with God? First, we must remember
that anger is an emotion, and oftentimes emotions are neither right nor wrong:
they just are. What we do with our emotions is a separate issue. People are
sometimes surprised by the answer I give them: "If you feel anger toward God
you should tell him. God is big enough and strong enough to handle your hurt
and anger. So tell him about. He wants you to pour out your heart to him. He
wants you to express what is in your heart."
Didn't Jesus pour out his heart to the Father in Gethsemane and on the
cross? We should do the same. Hold nothing back when you pray. Tell the
Lord exactly what's in your heart, especially the bad feelings. By pouring out
these emotions we are freed from their hold, and we enter more deeply into
the loving embrace of the Lord.
God does not want us stuck in anger or any other negative feelings we may
have. This is why we should be honest with God in prayer. We should go
before God as we are, not pretending to be someone we are not. If we are
honest with God in prayer, we will feel a sense of deep freedom, and we will
find ourselves having a deeper relationship with God and less
discouragement.
To bottle up our anger - even anger toward God - does only harm, never
good. To be dishonest - even in our prayers - clouds our relationship with
God. God desires real people, honest and forthright, who pour out their hearts
before him, bringing him all their motives and emotions. The truth is that God
knows the depths of our hearts - our thoughts, our motives, our emotions -
even before we speak them. So ,if we fail to be honest with God then we are
only deceiving ourselves. Honesty with God is liberating.
Do you know why most pastors keep at the task despite rejection and anger?
Plain and simple, the call of God upon their lives keeps them going. I spent
time with a group of pastors. We bemoaned the struggles of our vocation. One
said: "Do you want to know what I tell everyone who comes to me asking if
they should go into the ministry? I tell them, ‘If you can do something else, do
it.'" Another pastor piped up, "You know why I don't do something else?
Because I am called."
The call comes first from the heart - internal - as a result of the continued
drawing from the Holy Spirit. This conviction is as deep within the innermost
being of a person. Eventually, it becomes unshakeable. It marks a person for
life. In time the inward call of God is reflected outward, as the Christian
community confirms it. No one can fulfill the difficult role of ministry adequately
who has not been called and commissioned by Christ (internally) and the
Church (externally).
Warren Wiersbe, former pastor and author, writes, "The work of ministry is too
demanding and difficult for a man to enter it without a sense of divine calling.
Men enter and then leave the ministry usually because they lack a sense of
divine urgency. Nothing less than a definite call from God could ever give a
man success in the ministry." (Howard F. Sugden and Warren W. Wiersbe,
When Pastors Wonder How (Chicago: Moody, 1973), p. 9.
Four questions emerge to evaluate whether one has a call to the ministry. Is
there confirmation from God and by others? Are instructional shepherding and
leadership abilities evident? Is there a longing to serve God with one's whole
heart? Is there a lifestyle of integrity? Ministry is more about being that it is
about doing.
H.B. London in his book, The Heart of a Great Pastor, writes: "In those times
when we stumble for our footing in the awful swellings of the Jordan, and the
Evil One whispers in our ear, ‘Why did you ever decide to be a preacher
anyway?' the right answer can only be, ‘Cause I was called, you fool!'" (H. B.
London and Neil Wiseman, The Heart of a Great Pastor)
III. Be watchful - know that the Lord is with you (v. 11)
Jeremiah realized that he wasn't alone. "But the LORD is with me like a
violent warrior" (Jer. 20:11). He was not on the losing side. He was going to
win because the Lord was with him like a mighty warrior. God would deal
effectively, in his own way and time, with his enemies.
Can you imagine the difference it would make in your outlook if you remained
consciously aware that God is with you? Imagine going into a difficult board
meeting knowing that God is beside you. Picture entering into a stressful
presentation knowing that God walks with you. Envision confronting the status
quo with the mighty arm of the Lord surrounding you.
A. W. Tozer writes:
Living in the glow of God's presence will enable you to fight on despite
discouragement.
IV. Be worshipful - praise God with your whole hear (v. 13)
Jeremiah's despair turned to joy, his defeated attitude turned to triumph, his
dismay to courage. The key that unlocked the door to victory was praise.
Jeremiah triumphantly proclaimed, "Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord" (Jer.
20:13).
Praise is the one weapon in the Christian's arsenal against which Satan has
no defense. When we praise God we acknowledge that he is in charge - he
can do what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants.
Praise is more than just acknowledging God for the good that comes our way.
Praise is accepting from God all that comes our way, both the good and the
bad. The praise we offer when things don't go our way is far more precious to
God than the praise we offer when all is well.
Praise takes our minds off our situation and focuses them on God. It gives
God the right to rule and to reign in our lives how he sees fit. It acknowledges
that God knows more about what he is doing than we do. It accepts that God
can take all the bad stuff of life and make something beautiful out of it.
A few chapters later Jeremiah records God's words to Israel: "'For I know the
plans I have for you' - this is the LORD's declaration – 'plans for your welfare,
not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (29:11). God weaves a
tapestry of our lives. We don't always see the finished product. Sometimes to
get to the end we have our share of difficulties. When we realize God has a
plan, we have two options: we can fight it, or we can embrace it.
Prayer opens the door for God's power to move into our lives. But the prayer
of praise releases more of God's power than any other form of petition. The
Psalmist wrote, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel"
(Psalm 22:3 KJV). God actually dwells, inhabits, and resides in our praise.
God's power and presence is near when we praise him.
When we praise God for the present situation as a part of God's plan, God's
power is unleashed. This power cannot be brought about by a new attitude or
a determined effort of self-will, but by God working in our lives.
Conclusion
Let me close with a legend that reveals the source of discouragement.
Supposedly, the devil put his tools up for sale, marking each for public
inspection with its appropriate sale price. Included were hatred, envy,
jealousy, deceit, lying, and pride. Laid apart from these was a rather harmless
looking but well-worn tool – discouragement - marked at an extremely high
price. Why the costly price? The devil answered: "Because it is more useful to
me than the others. I can pry open a person's heart with that when I cannot
get near her with the other tools. Once inside, I can make her do whatever I
choose. It is badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since few
people know it belongs to me."
Many people succumb to this infamous tool of Satan. Maybe you feel its effect
now. You can rise above discouragement. Will you: