A Fire in My Bones

Those of you who preach (either full or part time) know first hand how important encouragement is to the preacher. The title of this article comes from Jeremiah 20:9, a passage which is usually applied to preachers. It seems to me, however, that we can find something in this passage to encourage all of us.

In Jeremiah 20, the prophet had become discouraged. When the priest, the chief officer of the house of the Lord, the head religious honcho of the whole country, heard Jeremiah preaching, he had him beaten and put in stocks. Talk about a negative reaction to a sermon! And this kind of attention was beginning to weigh on Jeremiah. Even though the priest (Pashur) had Jeremiah released the next day, God, through Jeremiah, still had something to say to him. Jeremiah told Pashur that his name was going to be changed. God was going to start calling him Magor-missabib. (Since you are reading this, you just pronounce that name however you want). The name means “terror on every side.” In my life I have worn several descriptive nicknames, given by friend and foe alike. However, this is one that I have thankfully avoided. How would you like it if you found out your new nickname was “terror on every side” and then, to make matters worse, you found out that it was God who gave you that nickname?

You might be thinking that this is the message of encouragement; that when you get down because of the way people (even God’s people, sometimes) treat you, you can call to mind one such person who got his comeuppance. That’s not it! You will notice that in this story we have not gotten to Jeremiah’s statement about a “fire in my bones” yet. You see, just seeing someone else punished and brought low did not make Jeremiah feel any better. That ought to be a lesson to us, too; seeing others brought low should not make us feel better about ourselves.

Actually, Jeremiah is a little put out with God. In 20:7 he accuses God of deceiving him. It sounds like he is blaming God for the trouble he gets into when he preaches God’s Word. Sometimes preachers get into the same trouble today. Nothing has changed on that score. However, all of us, preachers or not, get discouraged and sometimes it is because we are doing the right thing and suffering for it. Maybe you do not get up in a pulpit every Sunday, but I know that there are those who stand for the truth and are called “troublemakers,” “wolves in sheep’s clothing” and all manner of evil things are said about them on account of Jesus. See Matthew 5:10-12. Even if someone else comes to your rescue and pronounces judgment (from God’s Word) on the one who troubles you, that still does not take away the sting of the criticism or attack, does it? Jeremiah 20:9 is where we find the encouragement: But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,” then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it.

Do you see it? The encouragement is that when you are the kind of Christian God wants you to be, you cannot stand NOT to speak forth the things you have seen and heard (Acts 4:20). It becomes such a part of you, that it is stronger than that which threatens to overcome you. You may feel like you are too tired to go on, but that fire is a strength that will not let you down. Skip down to verse 11 (this is powerful): But the Lord is with me like a dread champion; therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed, with an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten. This is encouraging! I do not have to worry because God is on my side.

Remember, the faithful Christian is preaching the Gospel whether a full-time preacher or not (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16). Sometimes that preaching is going to be to Christians who have fallen away or who are still in church, but are following false doctrine or leading others away from God rather than to Him. In many of those cases, the truth is going to be resisted and the attacks can get very personal. All of that is terribly discouraging to the one fighting the Good Fight. It will seem like there is no use in continuing. You may be a laughingstock. Well, let us not be in such a hurry to hand over the keys to the kingdom to the devil. There is new strength to be had. There is a fire that has not gone out and it is in the bones of the faithful who will not be denied and will not be shut up. God put that fire there because He loves you and so do I. Do not let that ole’ Pashur bother you. He’s got his coming!

Donnie Bates