Cancelling Jeremiah
Daily Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 26-29
Daily Focus Passage: Jeremiah 26
We live in a culture defined by the word cancellation. We constantly hear of what is being canceled within our culture. The prophet Jeremiah declares the word of the Lord to the people of Judah. His listeners did not like the message he declared from the Lord. As a result, the people chose to neglect listening to the message from the Lord and sought to cancel Jeremiah from speaking the truth. When we consider this moment within the Bible, we find critical truth for living as a follower of Christ in the world today.
SPEAKING TRUTH
The prophet Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord. He understood that his message was not his, but instead, the message came from God. Jeremiah understood that he nor any human controlled or defined truth. Instead, Jeremiah held that God alone is the finer and revealer of truth. Jeremiah sought to declare only what the Lord had given to him. Today, we must seek to declare the truth of the Lord boldly. We must declare the truth from the word of God and live according to the ways of god that reveal the power of truth in our lives. Thus, Jeremiah stands as an example for us today of how we must speak the truth in a culture that refuses to follow the Lord.
SILENCING TRUTH
Jeremiah faced opposition to the message he declared. The people refused to hear the message or accept the truth. The people attempted to silence Jeremiah from declaring the word of God. They attempted to silence Jeremiah through threats and using their profits to declare a message that soothed their ears. Today, believers must understand that the world will attempt to silence the truth. The world will try to silence us as the messengers and stop the message from spreading to the ends of the earth.
SELF-TRUTH
The people attempted to silence and cancel Jeremiah because the truth of God, he declared, was in opposition to the truth they attempted to define. The people held to their self-truth. They elevated the thought that each person must live according to their truth. Jeremiah knew there was no such truth as self-truth because God alone was the giver and definer of truth. Today, many people attempt to silence believers and the declaration of God’s message. They use the excuse that the message you declare can be your truth but that they have their truth, and that must be honored. As believers, we know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and as a result, there is no self-truth, but ultimately only God‘s truth.
STANDING IN TRUTH
Jeremiah stood in faithfulness to the Lord. He would not allow those around him to cancel him or his message. He stood in the strength of the Lord. He understood his calling and remained faithful. He knew God‘s truth, and standing in the truth of the Lord would be the only way to endure the pressure. When we look throughout the book of Jeremiah, we find a faithful prophet who endured much persecution in the name of serving the Lord. Today, believers must find the hope, strength, and patience needed to endure a cancellation culture in the presence, power, and purpose of God. The world will not like the message of truth, but we have received the call to be the ambassadors representing the kingdom of God. How will you serve as the messenger of God in a culture that attempts to silence the message?
