Jeremiah 15:18-21
“Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail.” vs. 18
Jeremiah had been thrilled to be chosen as a mouthpiece for the Lord but his joy and delight quickly faded. People paid no attention to his words and it becomes apparent that the Lord’s judgment will fall on him as well as his country. In pain he cries out, accusing the Lord of being like a deceitful brook, one whose waters fail. Some of us know that feeling. We sign up to be followers of Jesus with enthusiasm and relish our baptismal call to be known by his name. But then things don’t go as we imagine. The joy and delight is ephemeral and rapidly fades. Ugly stuff happens and with disappointment comes misery. Death comes near and we find ourselves aching with the pain of loss, wounded just like everyone else, and we wonder why bad things keep happening. Healing from our wounds is elusive, God is remote, and some days it’s hard to even crawl out of bed. Even when we drink the water of life offered by Jesus, we taste only bitterness and despair…and we echo Jeremiah’s lament. And then, out of the stillness God comes to us and we hear our call affirmed. We are reminded that wounds give authenticity to our words and that the hurting will find comfort in our sharing…and so we ‘called ones’ struggle on, praying that one day, all of us together will find the healing we all crave.
Thought for the Day: How have I been wounded?
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