Saying what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless

 This week's verses are Jeremiah 15:15-19:

I said,

“Lord, you know how I suffer.
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.
As your words came to me I drank them in,
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.
Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you,
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”

Because of this, the Lord said,

“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me.
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman.
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them.

 The prophet Jeremiah lived a hard life under God's plan. We know this partially because of his complaints. Here he is complaining again. His words are very much like those of the Psalms, but with a bit more of a bitter edge. He is hurting and struggling with his faith in God's protection, and he is expressing some real mistrust in God's plan.

It makes sense. Imagine you were called to ministry and you kept getting arrested and tortured and abused for your faith and no justice seemed to be on its way. No rest from the weariness of being a victim. You know God is there, but the torments keep coming. It's understandable that you would get upset and worried.

But God tells Jeremiah he must not harbor that bitterness. He must not entertain thoughts that God might not be faithful. Instead he is to repent of those thoughts and turn back to trusting God despite his experiences. He says those thoughts are worthless.

Could you or I do it, if God asked us? If we were suffering and having a difficult life while doing everything God has asked us to do, could we dismiss our unbelief and plow ahead regardless of what is happening? That is a hard command to follow. But it is what God asks of us. We can complain, but we must still trust.

We are asked to repent of our negativity and to give God the benefit of the doubt.  If we do so, he will use us for his work. Others will come to trust him through us, rather than the other way around.

Examine your heart. When things go badly despite your prayers, what direction do your words and thoughts go? Do they trust that God redeems all things for his good? Or do you begin to complain (even passively) about God and question his goodness? If there is even a drop of mistrust there, repent and ask for His help in taking a new path. Let your heart begin to say what is worthwhile rather than what is worthless.