Stubborn Faith
"Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire" (Jeremiah 38:6).
God called Jeremiah to rebuke and reprove the sins of the Israelites in order to amend their ways so as to stay the doom that was soon to befall them. God promised Jeremiah that He will be with him. Even though God never left him, Jeremiah faced serious woes: he was imprisoned; he drunk mud water; kings, prophets and priests were all against him; he was beaten and kept in a stock, yet he never withheld the Word of God. God told Jeremiah not to marry, nor morn with mourners, nor feast with those who feast.
Jeremiah like Job, cursed the day that he was born but never said any word against God (see Job 3:1-3; Jeremiah 20:14). Amidst all the persecutions, Jeremiah had a stubborn faith to trust only in the Lord, delivering God’s message and obeying His word. Job also portrayed stubborn faith even when he lost everything and his friends accused him of sin.
The apostle Paul once said, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). As God's children, when trials assail us, what words do we utter? How do we behave? Do we sometimes doubt God? Do we listen to people instead of God? Do our trials draw us closer to God or withdraw us from Him?
We do not have to know the future before we trust in God. As Christians, we should strive to exhibit immovable faith in whatever befalls us just as Jeremiah and Job did. Let’s always remember what Christ said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Gifty Achiaa Fosuaah
