Fire in the Bones
Today’s Verse:
Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. ~Jeremiah 20:9
Have you ever experienced a burning sensation in your bones, body, or organs? If you have, you have felt very uncomfortable and restless. Jeremiah was at a very low point in his life. However, he was greatly victorious at a time when he felt that he couldn’t go on. Let us see what it means to have a fire burning in your bones.
We see the rejection.
“Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.” Pashur had enough of Jeremiah’s preaching against the sins of Jerusalem and of God’s judgment that would come. This man disrespected Jeremiah by slapping him on the face and having him placed in stocks. He publicly shamed Jeremiah. Pashur publicly made it known that Jeremiah’s message and presence were rejected. Rejection can hurt us very badly. If you are rejected, you are at a low place in your life. You are not allowed to associate any longer with the people who have rejected you. You are told that you are not welcome and you are not wanted.
We see the resignation.
“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name.” Jeremiah blamed God for his predicament. He accused the Lord of deceiving him. He despised his calling, his message, and the hardship he was going through. Jeremiah basically quit on God! He decided that he would preach no more. He decided God’s Word was a reproach and derision to him. We are in a bad place in our life when we quit on God. Are you going through a period of hardship and difficulty that has been pressuring you to quit on God and church?
We see the revival.
What do you do when you have quit, at least in your heart? Jeremiah came to realize that even though he felt like giving up on God, God had not given up on him! “But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” He experienced a fire in his bones! God’s Word refreshed itself in Jeremiah’s heart. He experienced a fiery revival that raged like a fire out of control within him. You see, the cumulative effect of reading, memorizing, studying, and meditating in Scripture stays inside of you. When we hit low points, God stokes a fire within us. Instead of quitting, he reenlisted! He said, “I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” God’s Word burned deeply in Jeremiah and kept him from quitting.
We see the reinforcement.
“But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.” Jeremiah came back to his senses and remembered some things that helped him. He was reinforced by God’s greatness. He was reinforced by God’s presence. He was reinforced by the fact that he was on the winning side with God.
Stay in God’s Word! Be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. When the flesh says to quit, let the fire of God’s Word burn in your bones.
Have a revived God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 1 Timothy 1-6
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