29/06/2013 - GIVING EARS TO MOCKING CAUSES FEAR

• 
• 
• 
• 

For I heard many mocking:“Fear on every side!”. “Report,” they say, “and we will report it!”. All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced;then we will prevail against him,
And we will take our revenge on him.” 

Jeremiah 20:10

Giving ears to the people’s mocking may cause you to lose faith, causing fear to be installed inside your heart. If Jeremiah had submitted to the divine order, the enemy wouldn’t have filled him with terror. It’s important to be alert, because the devil will do everything he can to take you away from the project the Lord designed for you; he will try all kinds of temptation.

When you pay attention to the bad things people say, you deviate your attention from the Word of God. When Jesus was baptized, God told everyone that Jesus was His beloved son, and that everybody should listen to Him. (Matthew 17:5) That’s why whoever listens to the persecutors, the arrogant, the egotistical, and whoever listens to counsels that don’t come from the Holy Spirit, is filled with doubt. Therefore, don’t give ears to the adulterous woman. (Proverbs 7:6-23)

People who pay attention to the mockers are frightened, because they start seeing things just like the wicked see: terror from every side. The message of God, however, frightens the lost and reveals to them their own chaotic situation (1 Corinthians 1:18). Jesus said that the light came to the world, but men loved darkness more than the light, because their deeds were wicked. (John 3:19) Therefore, those who are mad against the Word do that because they have evil purposes.

The truth is that the lost are terrified because it is related to what they will suffer for eternity. Jeremiah, for example, heard that people who were close to him influenced others to complain about him just so that they’d do the same afterwards. It doesn’t matter if the same happens to us. We might suffer in the hands of the wicked, but the important thing is that we don’t owe them anything. (Romans 13:8) This is how the lives of those who are saved should be, after all, suffering because of good deeds is a blessing.

The sons of God who are friends with the lost ones are committing a mistake. They might even be good people, and have good intentions, but they are under the power of the evil one, and this being hates us. When we least expect, their father will inspire them to do something against us, and they will do it. Even so, we shouldn’t avoid them, but demonstrate the divine love instead.

Jeremiah was very worried, because those who were on his side, were actually waiting for him to commit a mistake so they could expose him. This is not uncommon; many times those who are called our brothers and sisters actually want us to fail, so they can take our place. Don’t be fooled, the people of God should dwell alone. (Numbers 23:9; Deuteronomy 33:28)

They expected the prophet to be fooled, and to abandon the Lord’s messages, which caused them fear. The truth is that the enemy was speaking through them. That’s why it’s always best to fear the Lord always. Keep that in mind, and do not be taken away by mocking.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares