Prophet and Loss
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. (Jeremiah 1: 4-9)We don't see many prophets these days. That's not to say that they aren't among us, nor even that God hasn't sent them, put His words in their mouths.
No, we just don't see them. And we certainly don't listen to them.
It's a daunting task to be a prophet in such an enlightened era. What need do we have of them? The Bible tells us everything we need to know and if there are gaps or questions, we have commentaries! We have the internet! We have...well...we have ourselves, don't we?
John York came to our church recently and told us a few things that some people didn't want to hear. He was right, of course, and was speaking neither more nor less than what had been commanded of him to speak. He wasn't wearing rags and he wasn't eating bugs, but there was no question that he was a prophet.
I wonder how many prophets are trying to tell us something that we steadfastly ignore. And I wonder how many of us, like Jonah, are daily boarding ships that are heading in the wrong direction. We all can speak. None of us need to be afraid. God Himself touches our lips.
posted by Thurman8er @ 7:49 AM
6 Comments:
That's a new thought for me, Steve--Prophets among us today. But He does touch our lips with His words; I'm sure of it.
Reminds me of what I tell my students:
I know all of you are "hearing" my voice but I wonder how many are listening?
Hang in the Bro.
You're right. We're always pretty sure that the prophetic voice is speaking to the person sitting next to us! And if there is any inkling that the prophet might be speaking to us we do look for way out.
"Prophets" who have claimed to be prophets over the years have only bored or amused me. The real prophets in my life have never claimed to be prophets, but you knew when they spoke they were, indeed, the messengers of God.
May we always keep looking for them! They may come in unconventional human form. Look for those who speak the truth.
Prophets does sound like something from the ancient times and not relevant now, but you are right. God does touch our lips with His word and I think God wants to talk to us everyday. It easy to listen to Him when it something we like to do, but its when it is something that seems a little too challenging that we become like Jonah and runaway. Good thoughts Steve! Thanks for sharing.
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