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Day 352 (Jeremiah 20:14-18) Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me! Let the man be cursed who brought news to my father, saying, “A male child has been born to you!” making him glad. And let that man be like the cities which the LORD overthrew and did not relent; let him hear the cry in the morning and the shouting at noon, because he did not kill me from the womb, that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb always enlarged with me. Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame? How many times have you said you wished you had never been born? Your life has been hardship and misery and nothing you do can change it. Jeremiah was God’s prophet, ordained from the womb to prophesy to the people what God proposed. For his obedience, the people persecuted him to the point where he wished he had never been born. You are human. You will go through many heartaches in your life. It is not uncommon to wish you had never been born; never known the hardship and distress every life goes through. Yet, for all the hardship you face, there are many blessings. As Christians, it is easy to fall into the state of mind Jeremiah faced. He was God’s faithful servant. He faced many hardships and wished he had never been born to face them. Yet, it did not stop him from proclaiming God’s Word. Despite the way people treated him, he still brought God’s message. Will you cave in and sit in misery and despair, or will you be like Jeremiah who proclaimed God’s Word during the hardest time of his life? It’s easy to hear words of hope and life. It’s hard to live it. Many Christians go to ministry crusades, hoping to hear the formula that will break them out of their misery and transform them into a person of unquestionable faith. They want to stand firm in their resolve as Christians. They want to be like the cartoon character who holds a sword in his hand and wears a cape and costume with a large cross on his chest and stands fearless in his faith. You don’t need a costume. You already own the weapon of your warfare, the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. God’s Word is in your mouth. You only need to speak it with the boldness God gave you when you committed your life to Him. Your costume is the armor of God. You are to put it on daily so that no weapon formed against you will prosper. Though Jeremiah spoke about not being born, he didn’t sit in misery, he still did God’s work and proclaimed God’s Word to the people. Everyone has those thoughts. It takes faith to go forward and do what God purposed for your life. Let’s pray: Father, give me the boldness to do Your will and proclaim Your Word. Do not let me wallow in despair but rise with the Sword of the Spirit in my hand and Your armor in place so that no weapon formed against me will prosper. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 30 June 2023 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay