Jeremiah complains bitterly but faithfully (+ rom coms)

By mmayer

Jeremiah 20:7-13

Jeremiah’s complaint

⁷You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived;
    you overpowered me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed all day long;
    everyone mocks me.
⁸Whenever I speak, I cry out
    proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the Lord has brought me
    insult and reproach all day long.
⁹But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word
    or speak any more in his name,’
his word is in my heart like a fire,
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
    indeed, I cannot.
¹⁰I hear many whispering,
    ‘Terror on every side!
    Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!’
All my friends
    are waiting for me to slip, saying,
‘Perhaps he will be deceived;
    then we will prevail over him
    and take our revenge on him.’

¹¹But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;
    so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
    their dishonour will never be forgotten.
¹²Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
    and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
    for to you I have committed my cause.

¹³Sing to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.

Video

‘Lord, you took advantage of me. At first I liked being with you, but now it’s not so fun.’ (my paraphrase of Jeremiah 20: 7). Jeremiah had God’s Word burning inside him, and it had to come out. Except that the Word was about the consequences of breaking the covenant with God. Like a train wreck that you can see coming a long way off, but can’t stop, Jeremiah had to preach that God’s people were going to experience the unthinkable. They would lose their God-given land, their God-given king and their God-given temple. God’s people, especially the powerful ones, wanted nothing of Jeremiah’s message. They called him a traitor. God had given Jeremiah the toughest job imaginable.

So Jeremiah tells God off. He tells God exactly what it is like being him. He says that God’s Word is burning in his very bones, and it’s compelling him to speak out, even though it just makes his personal situation more precarious.

It’s ok to be real before God. In fact, it’s the only way that works. If we try to be unreal, and cover up something, it will just break out, and probably in a damaging way. There is a whole Biblical tradition of lamenting and complaining to God, and it is an expression of deep faith and trust when going through an impossibly demanding situation. So…

Be aware what you are experiencing, and then tell God. Use words, tears, whatever you need to use.
Try not to be totally wrapped up in your pain and your experience. You want to allow God at least a tiny entrance way into your pain, otherwise nothing can change.
Expect a response. There will be one. If it is simply silence, explore the quality or texture of that silence. Is God there in the silence? What is that like.
Find some practice that works for you and helps ease the distress levels. It could be simply praying the Lord’s Prayer aloud, giving attention to each word. It could be taking the dog for a walk or curling up with your cat. It could be stepping out your door, just as the sun is rising, to feel the coolness and the colours.
If you want to find out how rom coms fit in with this theme (that’s the fun bit) check out the video below.