Joy in God’s Word

The prophet Jeremiah spoke out to the disobedient nation of Israel, only to be hated and brutalized for delivering the Word of God to them—they simply didn’t want to know. To say the least, that’s a whole lot like the world we’re living in today. To take a stand for biblical values, or just speak a passage of Scripture in certain places, or say a simple prayer that honors God, will bring vitriolic hatred down on the head of anyone who dares do such a thing. It seems that to live for God these days is to be expected to silently endure whatever evil society or its institutions choose to inflict, while being denied the same rights noisily demanded and readily granted to everyone else.

For all the opposition Jeremiah endured just for speaking out in obedience to God, he himself knew something that sustained him through all the hatred and mistreatment. He knew that God’s Word would sustain, strengthen and nourish his spirit. He knew that the Word of God gives light and hope wherever it is proclaimed and wherever human beings make the choice to hide that Word in their hearts. As Jeremiah feasted on God’s Word, it became the “joy and the delight” of his heart.

Meanwhile, those who rejected the prophetic warning Jeremiah faithfully delivered, faced exactly the horrifying fate and divine judgment Jeremiah promised them. The degree to which the actual events and suffering that Israel experienced were so accurately and painstakingly foretold isn’t just uncanny, it’s a reflection of the love of God and the lengths to which He went to make sure His people were fully warned and prepared. Once again, they just didn’t want to know—just like the people we can watch on our news broadcasts every day. They are busily pursuing their own agendas and pleasures without restraint, ignoring God and ignoring the love He has proclaimed all around them if only they’d choose see it.

If you and I are to prevail in this generation, and if we are to have any hope of living a life marked by the joy and delight Jeremiah spoke of, we’d better make sure the Word of God is being soaked into our spirits on a daily basis. And, like Jeremiah, when God commands us to speak that Word to those around us—no matter how hatefully they may choose to respond—we’ll also discover the eternal value of being filled with a joy no one can ever take from us!