#DailyDevotion When You Curse The Day You Were Born
November 8th
Read Jer 20:1–18
Jer 20:11-18 But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. (12) O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. (13) Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. (14) Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!
Well the chapter starts off pretty bad for Jeremiah. While I have had my share of naysayers in different congregations, Jeremiah certainly has had it worse. Beaten and put into stocks is pretty drastic. But Jeremiah calls upon the Lord for vengeance. He speaks the curse of the Lord upon those false prophets who have cause him pain and shame. He only wishes to see it himself. One may not see it being particularly Christian calling down curses upon ones enemies. But Jeremiah is speaking on behalf of the Lord. He is God’s mouthpiece and is proclaiming upon his enemies only that which God himself has put in his mouth.
And then we get this real nice praise of the Lord here towards the end. He praises the Lord for being his defender, deliverer and the one whom exacts vengeance upon those who mistreat the Lord’s anointed. He does this before it happens because he knows the Lord will do what he has promised. It will happen.
But then this last section seems completely out of whack from the praise he has just given the Lord. It seems completely out of place. It goes great with what happens before he praises the Lord. It’s been one of those days. Perhaps we’ve had one of those days. Some of us seem to accumulated weeks, months and years of those days. This isn’t Jeremiah’s first bad day either.
But the Lord knew Jeremiah before he was even conceived in the womb. He had a plan for Jeremiah. The plan for Jeremiah on a grand scale is certainly larger than the Lord’s plan for many of us. But the truth remains, God has a plan for you and will bring it to completion. It may include all sorts of hardships, heartbreak, crosses and shame. We too may curse the day we were born and those who helped bring us into the world. Never-the-less, the Lord also has a plan for you. You are important to the Lord’s plan even if you cannot see it. No one else may even ever know you exist and how you fit into the Lord’s plan. But you are important to it.
If you are uncertain of your value or worth in the plan of God go and look at a crucifix. Gazing upon the wounds and the death of Jesus, God’s Son, you will see God’s great love for you and your value to him.
Lord God, heavenly Father, ever give us faith to not lose hope but to look to your son Jesus Christ and trust in your great love for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.