“For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black;
astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is
there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my
people recovered?” (Jer 8:21-22 AV)
These words are the prophet’s words.
The idea of blackness of face is one of mourning. Either absent of the light of life, or,
application of the ashes of mourning. He
asks a question that gives understanding to the cause of his mourning. Not so much the condition of the sinfulness
of his people, but rather, the cure is rejected. There is a balm. There is a physician. Yet, the people will not be healed of their backsliding.
As a man of God, it is important to feel the troubles and trials of
those to whom God as called us to minister.
Reading Jeremiah is good for the man of God. In chapter five, the LORD tells Jeremiah that
he will preach with no results. The people
will not harken. They will not listen. They will not repent of their sin and their
lives will be irreversibly changed. They
will go off to captivity and the glory that once was Judah will be lost. Trouble awaits them because they will not
turn back to God. The man of God can do
two things. He can preach, knowing there
will be no results, and shield himself from emotional damage. Or, he can allow the condition of the people
to bother him. Initially, Jeremiah did
the later. He mourned over the obstinate
nature of his people. He could see the
result of the choices they made before these results came to be. He knew the end from the beginning. And, it bothered him. However, this caused burnout. Just a few chapters later, Jeremiah couldn’t
do it anymore. This didn’t last long as
the fire of truth burned deep within his soul.
Effective ministry must allow for the sins of the people to bother the
man of God. He must allow his emotions
to be stirred by the condition of which he finds the sheep. He cannot allow himself to become calloused
to the point he simply doesn’t care anymore.
This temptation is all too easy.
Every man of God goes through this cycle. The Jeremiah cycle. It’s not that the cease to care. It is because they did care a lot and it got
them nowhere. The spent emotional energy
in weeping and praying over their people, only to have things remain as they
always were. As a final word to those
who are not called of God to preach and pastor:
If you want your preacher to last the duration, then respond to his
ministry. Know that he loves you and
cares for you. He is troubled at your
condition. But if you do not change, he
will inoculate himself against further emotional damage and begin the process
of calcification. Keep him tender towards
you be keeping yourself tender to the truth of the word of God. Let him know his ministry is making a
difference in your life and share those specifics. Let him know of a particular choice you made
because of a truth he shared. It goes a
long way in encouraging him to throw of the face of mourning and the astonishment
of heart.
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