viewoutsidethepew

I dedicate this lament to all those who have been called to the office of prophet (1 Corinthians 12:28), who likely share this experience with me.

7 O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived.
You overpowered me and won.
I’ve been made fun of all day long.
Everyone mocks me.
8 Each time I speak, I have to cry out and shout,
“Violence and destruction!”
The word of the Lord has made me the object of insults
and contempt all day long.
9 I think to myself, “I can forget the Lord
and no longer speak his name.”
But {his word} is inside me like a burning fire shut up in my bones.
I wear myself out holding it in, but I can’t do it any longer.
10 I have heard many {people} whispering,
“Terror is everywhere!
Report him! Let’s report him!”
All my closest friends are waiting to see me stumble.
They say, “Maybe he will be tricked.
Then we can overpower him and take revenge on him.”
14 Cursed is the day that I was born,
the day that my mother gave birth to me.
May it not be blessed.
17 If only he had killed me while I was in the womb.
Then my mother would have been my grave,
and she would have always been pregnant.
18 Why did I come out of the womb?
All I’ve seen is trouble and grief.
I will finish my days in shame.

(Jeremiah 20:1-18 God’s Word ©)

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This Lent I am being led on a pilgrimage. I do not yet know if it is from persecution or to suffering or through both. Nevertheless the journey has begun.