Like other failing disciples I can´t help feeling related to Jeremiah  when it comes to the grounds on which he was called upon to preach "in season and out of season" (2 Tim. 4:2).

In my younger days a deceased Norwegian friend resembled in many ways the severely criticized prophet of old as he identified himself with the loneliness of his words,  "I did not sit in the company of revelers (those that make merry), nor did I rejoice;  I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you have filled me with indignation..."  (Jer. 15:17).

But as a boy I didn´t understand that man of God.  I thought he was too much of a pessimist, but now I see how wrong I was.  He was not a sulking grumbler, for like Jeremiah he would also rejoice in God´s word saying like him,  "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words  became to me a joy and a delight of my heart!"  (v. 16).

Today I think of that man as the one above others who taught me to love my Bible from which he himself drew living water which made his dear countenance brighten up with a smile, nay even with a holy laughter.

So I hope to be in the company of Jeremiah.  The temptation to  self-pity is there too.  Then I think of this recurring  word from my "boot camp" days, "If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?" (Jer. 12:5) meaning,  if your present circumstances seem tough, how will you cope with much tougher things?

Nothing happens, I once complained to an old servant of God.  But he quietly said, "How much happened in the days of Jeremiah?"  That answer has followed me over the years at a time where puffed up activists brag about their great, empty doings.

However, in the Spirit of the old prophets we will still hold forth Christ to lost souls.  The gospel thrill in the eyes of the children makes me press on  at this last moment of my life´s course. "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy"  (Rev. 19:10), i.e. the spirit and intent of the prophecy is to point to our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!     -  Febr. 22, 2019 - jn