In Jeremiah, chapter seventeen, verses fourteen through eighteen, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now. As for me, I have hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest that which came out of my lips was right before thee. Be not thou a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded; let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.”
In the face of persecution and opposition, Jeremiah prays for God’s grace to help him continue his prophetic ministry. The people and the false prophets had been taunting him and scoffing him at his prophecies because his predictions had not yet been fulfilled, as in verse fifteen. Despite this suffering, Jeremiah refused to turn from his ministry but continued to look to God for strength.
Jeremiah humbly asks that God would own and protect him in the work to which he had plainly called him. Whatever wounds or diseases we find within our hearts and consciences, let us apply to the Lord to heal us, to save us, that our souls may praise His name. His hands can bind up the troubled conscience and heal the broken heart, which he can cure the worst diseases of our nature.
Today, servants of God who minister must hold to God’s Word when facing ungodly people. God should be our refuge and strength in times of trouble, as in Psalm forty-six, verse one.