Jeremiah 20:9

New Living Translation (NLT)

But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!

For meditation

I love the story of this man who couldn’t hold back his joy at the preached word, and the rich man who couldn’t take this man’s unnerving “Hallelujahs” whenever the preacher hit a cord in his heart. Noticing the single, worn-out pair of shoes this irritating brother wore every Sunday that was begging for a change, the rich man struck a deal with him: “No hallelujah for six weeks in exchange for a brand new pair of shoes.” Not the best of deals, but necessity has a way of breaking a cherished resolution at the wrong time; so our friend went along. Anytime he moved to shout “Hallelujah” at the preached word, the rich man would bend over and whisper, “The shoe.” The poor man would uncomfortably sit back and snuff it. Unable to contain it anymore by the fifth week, our “Hallelujah” friend finally exclaimed, “Shoe or no shoe, I will praise the Lord. Hallelujah!” The congregation exploded.

Jeremiah felt the same way when he complained that God had deceived him (Jer. 20:7). His faithful proclamation of God’s word, in an environment of utter disobedience, idolatry, and false prophesies, brought him only insults and threats. He decided to stop preaching and free himself from the abuse. However, Jeremiah quickly learned how irrepressible the word of God is in the heart of the faithful. “It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it” (9)! How could he?

To know this truth for yourself, try sitting before the Lord in deep contemplation of His word and see what happens when the Holy Spirit opens a particular scripture to you. Feel the joy and the uneasiness in your seat, the song that rises in your heart, the praise waiting to be raised to Him who sits on the throne, the thanksgiving to give, and the worship to offer at the altar of grace; then you will know how the man with the worn-out shoe and Jeremiah felt:

It is impossible for the faithful to “hold in” the word of God and not live or speak it.

1. How long can you contain that fire shut in your bones?
2. How long can you deprive yourself of the joy it brings when you proclaim it?
3. How long will you allow your hostile and threatening environment to silence you?
4. How far can you survive your pretentious ways because of them?
5. Why not free yourself and shout in defiance to the world: “Shoe or no shoe, I will praise the Lord?”

I pray you free yourself from the tyranny of the ungodly and the crippling fear of losing the world’s favor.

So: May you embrace the liberating power of God’s word; and may the joy of the Lord Jesus encourage you to live and speak His word to the hostile world around you.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom – 2 Cor. 3:17

Shalom