Today’s Reading, Jeremiah 38-41
Focal Scripture: Jeremiah 38:6 “So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.”
We have all heard of the saying “right place, wrong time” and the implications it brings. This means that something has transpired at a place that is good but the timing was off. For instance you meet someone that you were interested in dating as a young person but circumstances didn’t allow you to date. So you were in the right place just the wrong time. Perhaps you were offered a job but you were not ready to revive the position because of a variety of reasons. Another instance of right place, wrong time.
In today’s reading we see that Jeremiah is exactly where he needs to be at the exact right moment. Even though he was lowered in a cistern and sunk in the mud it was not by accident. Jeremiah was exactly where God needed him to be because the message had to be declared by the messenger. Some could argue that Jeremiah could have given the message another way or in another place. However, that was not his calling or his purpose.
The reason I opened with the story about right place wrong time is because it sets the tone for Jeremiah’s purpose. People were probably thinking this message needs to be said but not right now. The people are fragile and need time to recover. However, Jeremiah was willing to be thrown into the muddy cistern to proclaim Gods truth no matter what it would cost him personally.
Jeremiah was in the right place at the right time and that put him in the mud. Let me encourage you dear believer that when you do the right thing it does not always go well for you. When you tell people the truth of scripture you will be rejected. They might even try to harm you like the people did to Jeremiah. They put him in a place that he would surely die.
We know from reading the scriptures he was delivered but he didn’t know that at the time. Our mindset must be that if we are obedient to God we will take whatever happens. Whether good or bad from the Lord. It doesn’t matter if it places us in a palace or a muddy cistern. Our goal is to be obedient and share the truth of scripture.
Would you be willing to spend time in the mud to declare God’s truth to others?
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Jeremiah 42-45
