Jeremiah - The Unappreciated Prophet
Jeremiah was a prophet who had the unenviable task of preaching to an unrepentant people. He did this for approximately 40 years. Can you imagine? Not a single conversion in 40 years! He was a young man when God called him. Let's assume he was 20 years old when he got the call. That would make him 60 years old when he retired. No conversions, everyone against him. At least he had family. Wrong! God told Jeremiah not to take a wife or have children because they would have horrible deaths. Jeremiah is truly alone - except for God. Listen to his laments from the book of Jeremiah:
4:19-21 - "My heart, my heart - I writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still."
8:18-9:22 - "My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken."
8:21 - "I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief!"
9:1-2 - "If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered."
9:10-22 - "I will weep for the mountains and wail for the wilderness pastures."
15:10 - "What sorrow is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth!"
15:15 - "Lord, you know what's happening to me. Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors!"
15:18 - "Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry."
20:14 - "Yet, I curse the day I was born!"
20:17-18 - "Oh, that I had died in my mother's womb, that her body had been my grave! Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame."
The bottom had dropped out of Jeremiah's world. It wasn't a very good world to begin with, as the Jews had turned their backs on God. Yet, it was home. Jeremiah knew the end was near, but to see God's justice on Judah was heartbreaking. Their beautiful temple had been destroyed. Jeremiah walked the streets cluttered with the stones torn from buildings and walls. He saw the dead bodies in the street. He saw the emaciated people walking in a daze. No wonder he earned the name of the "weeping prophet."
Jeremiah is grieving. Prolonged grieving, such as Jeremiah experienced, can turn into complicated grief. Symptoms of complicated grief include:
Intense and prolonged sorrow and pain. Remember, Jeremiah had 40 years of preaching about coming judgment and having the entire nation turn against him. He received laughter, mocking, beatings, death threats, and imprisonment. Can you imagine how hard it was for this young man to walk up to the elders of the Temple and give them God's message of Repent or Die? Every single time he approached, people rejected him.
Depression, deep sadness that does not resolve over time. It may include suicidal thoughts. (Refer back to Jo 15:10, 20:14, 20:17-18.) Jeremiah doesn't want this ministry anymore. It is too painful.
Jeremiah had a thankless ministry to a dying nation. It is not easy to watch the country you love cease to exist. Sometimes in life, we are handed disappointments that threaten to destroy us. Like Jeremiah, we grieve our loss. We cry out to God for answers and help and wonder where God is. Maybe we will be answered, maybe not. Either way, we need to express our feelings and then leave them in God's hands.
KEY THOUGHTS
Grief does not have to lead to depression. Express your emotions, do not ignore them.
Use your pain to draw closer to God.
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