Speaking Truth

Many of you know I've been on a challenge to read through the English Bible in a year. So far I've made my way through most of Israel's history. I am currently going through the life of Jeremiah and the history surrounding his lifetime. 

Jeremiah had a hard life. He started his ministry as a young man, maybe my age, and was afraid of how he'd be treated for prophesying and saying God's truth. 

"Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:6-8)

So Jeremiah began his ministry. It was hard. He was unable to marry or have children. He was hugely disliked by basically everyone. The King and the leaders wanted to kill him or at least harm him (and tried to/did more than once). He was in and out of prison. He was thrown down pits full of mud. He was placed in stocks. His name was slandered.  Jeremiah spoke for YEARS to the King and to the people (about 40 years or so, they say). Warning them. Pleading with them. Agonizing over their bad choices. Begging God to have mercy on them. Speaking the truth in spite of being threatened and hated. 

That is a loooooong forty years. 

There are two episodes in Jeremiah's life that really strike me. 

"And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 

"Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord, even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the Lord do so: the Lord perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord’s house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. 

"Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; the prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him. 

"Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. 

"And the prophet Jeremiah went his way." (Jeremiah 28:1-10). 

There is this man, Hananiah, who is standing up and blatantly LYING in the name of God, and is being believed. (In verse 15 God sends Jeremiah to tell Hananiah, "Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie."). Jeremiah spoke up and told the truth. Hananiah went on and lied again. So Jeremiah left. He didn't stand there and argue the point, or scream at Hananiah. He just left. Later on, God told him to go back and talk to Hananiah. But right then wasn't the time. 

Later on, Jeremiah is imprisoned and then rescued and talks with the King. 

"Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me:" (Jeremiah 38:17-21).

Jeremiah knew the King had to choose for himself what he was going to do. He told the King plainly what the issue was, and warned him of the consequences if he chose the wrong. He begged him to choose what was right. But he couldn't do more. The King chose to do what was wrong anyways. I'm sure Jeremiah was heartbroken and frustrated. Maybe he even blamed himself for it. But there was nothing he could do. Zedekiah had to choose for himself. Jeremiah couldn't choose for him.  

Jeremiah ended up getting captured and chained by the Babylonians. He was placed among the other captives to be transported. Perhaps he felt rather bitter. For about 40 years he'd preached and warned and begged and endured hatred and imprisonment and mistreatment of all kind... and no one had listened... and now the city was in ruins, thousands of people were dead, the country was at the mercy of another empire, and he himself was a captive possibly facing slavery. That's a long 40 years or so with apparently no result. 

But Jeremiah's story doesn't end there. He was freed, given food, and sent away to go wherever he wanted to go. He kept ministering. He kept warning and preaching. In the end, he was taken to Egypt because the people still refused to obey God and turn from their sins even a little. His very last prophesy is a warning about the fate of Babylon. But the very end of the book of Jeremiah is overall positive. It tells of all the spoiling of Jerusalem and carrying away of captives, but ends with Zedekiah being taken out of prison and very well treated. 

Recently I've felt a lot like Jeremiah. 

Just this week I was obliged to state some unpleasant truth. And the person I stated them to was not happy and began to try to browbeat me into taking down the truth I'd said (and let go of certain convictions). This was... not easy. I love people and I hate disappointing anyone or hurting them. I was told I was "mean," "vindictive," "hurtful," and "lying." My name was passed around to people and I was told that people were outraged and disgusted with me. I lost a blooming friendship. I was verbally attacked. No one listened to my explanations or my reasoning. At one point I was upset enough that I almost backed down. Thank God for the one friend who stopped me in my tracks and told me with brutal honesty what I was about to do. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, y'all. 

But if there's one thing God's taught me this year, it's the value of Truth. God's Truth must be spoken. It cannot be compromised. It can't be silenced. 

It started when He put it on my heart to speak up and share some truth that I was terrified people would dislike. He led me on to talk more and more boldly about more and more Truth. So now here I am. Messiest, painfullest situation I've ever been in my life--but I am all right, really. I'm scared and upset, but overall, I'm calm and confident in my God's Truth. 

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:33)

That's so true, guys. I've lived it. If anyone had told me what I'd go through and tell me that I could be this happy and this calm and this untroubled about it, I would have disbelieved them 100%. Yeah, I am scared and upset and unhappy about it at times. BUT overall, like I said--I'm at rest. Because I know I am standing on the Truth. That is the most restful thing ever. 

I had to stop talking to the person because it was pointless. No one listened to anything I had to say; all they wanted was for me to take back the truth I'd said. I felt very sad because the person was making some really bad choices that were really hurting them. But I couldn't do anything about it. They already knew that it was a bad choice. They made those decisions. It wasn't my job to make them choose otherwise. I showed them the truth. They had to choose to believe it for themselves. 

I had it easier than Jeremiah. But it's still hard.

But I still believe that the story isn't over yet. I am free right now. Free from guilt. Free from shame. Free from fear. Free from hurt. It keeps coming back and trying to whisper in my ear that it's back, but with God's help I won't let it win. I will stand firm on the Rock. I'm being fed by God's word and the wise advice and help of good friends. I'm being loved and blessed by so many good, true friends.

I'll keep sharing the Truth. I'll keep warning. I'll keep loving and caring even if it hurts. I'll keep choosing to do what's right, in God's strength and by His grace. If it means forty years of speaking Truth and being hated and mistreated, so be it. Forty years is nothing compared to eternity. 

And when you stand in the Truth, you are truly free.