Well, this reading was rough. If you followed along with the reading, you read about some of the prophecies that Jeremiah was famous for. I don’t know why God told Jeremiah to have some of these elaborate visual aids to go along with His words, but Jeremiah did as he was told, and he certainly faced opposition because of it. He had to tell a lot of people that they were being sinful and that God was going to destroy them because of their disobedience. Once again, Jeremiah was captured and given a death sentence, and once again, he tells them “You’ll be killing an innocent man and this prophecy is still going to happen.” He escapes the death penalty and lives to deliver more tough news that we’ll be reading in the next few weeks, but he only BARELY escapes. Ugh. I don’t know why people weren’t listening. I’d like to believe I would—but who knows?
One big takeaway from this reading? Beware of false prophets. And more importantly, beware of BEING a false prophet. Did the Lord speak to you, or did the emotion of the moment speak to you? Do you let horoscopes, or your astrological sign, define who you are? Some of these things may be simply entertaining but be careful when you open that door. Only one person truly knows the future. And if someone says they heard a prophecy about you, but that prophecy contradicts the Bible, I assure you that it is NOT a prophecy from God. God’s Word never changes.
It can feel comforting when someone you love is suffering from a debilitating disease and someone tells you that God said they will be healed. While we will all be healed from earthly diseases once we enter heaven—we may not see that healing earth-side. You may be praying for salvation for a loved one, and while we know God hears our prayers and his grace is pursuing all of us, that person may never choose salvation.
Do we need to know the future? We don’t. We have the Scriptures, and it’s full of proof that God is real. There are still prophecies from the Bible coming true today! We don’t need prophecy anymore to believe. Regardless of the end result of any of our circumstances, we should pray for the people we love, and we should obey God regardless of the answer to those prayers.
So if someone prophesies about you or to you, maybe it’s true. Maybe that hope will keep you going. But if it contradicts Scripture or encourages you to continue in sin, I promise you—that prophecy is not from God. And keep your hope alive no matter what, even when—or maybe ESPECIALLY when, we go through trials. Romans 5:3-4 says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (NIV).
Please don’t be discouraged if you aren’t seeing answers to prayer. Keep hope alive and know that God hears your prayers.
I will keep that hope alive with you!
