Weekly Newsletter - Sunday 16th November 2008

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam 3:22-23

Some people teach that following God leads to a safe, painless life. They tell us that if we are faithful to God’s call, we will have protection from suffering and things will go our way. These folk have never encountered a prophet named Jeremiah.

Jeremiah lived with a heart that was humbly yielded to God. He heard the voice of the Father call him to proclaim the word of the Lord, and he lived with a tenacious obedience to this calling. But as we will see from our OTC talk this morning, his faithfulness was met with resistance. His preaching was discarded and ignored. As he humbly followed God, he was mocked, rejected, beaten, imprisoned, and left to rot in a hole in the ground.

In the life of Jeremiah we learn that sometimes God calls His children to a hard assignment. Our responsibility is to follow, even through pain and tears. Through Jeremiah’s example we discover that the life of faith can be like a marathon. We have to be ready to run hard, even when our bodies are weary and we feel like giving up.

Every follower of Christ will experience moments of struggle and pain. We can be right at the centre of God’s will, and it may be a hard place. You may have known times like that or even be in such a place right now! Ask God to help you see that His call is always right, even when it is difficult.

God bless you,

Paul