Torn Land is a book about Hurricane Camille and the flood in August of 1969 which was so devastating to Nelson County. It rained so hard and so fast and so long that birds drowned in their nests as entire families were swept away by the torn land of Nelson County. In the second chapter of the book, the author states that were two questions caused by this flood. One was meteorological. The other was theological. One was answered by charts and graphs. The other was a matter of faith.
In 1981, the Annual Conference had a series of revival services where pastors from one district would preach for 3 nights at the churches of another district. The church to which I was assigned was Bethlehem in the community of Roseland which is in Nelson County. Although it had been 12 years since the wrath of Hurricane Camille had been experienced, I found that even though some people may have come to a logical resolution about Camille, for many the theological question of Camille was still a matter of struggling faith.
Struggling faith, believing in God because of it all, despite of it all, and through it all.
Jeremiah believed in God because of it all, despite of it all, and through it all. When Pashhur, the chief officer in the temple, had Jeremiah placed in the stockade overnight for prophesying that the people of Jerusalem were going to be exiled, Jeremiah trusted in God as he told Passhur, “The Lord has named you not Passhur, but “Terror-all-around” as Pashhur would be a constant reminder of the truth of Jeremiah’s prophecy about the upcoming exile to Babylon.
The 20th chapter of Jeremiah is a defining biblical portrait of struggling faith.
The first 6 verses of the 20th chapter of Jeremiah offers one of the most powerful images of the powerless confronting the powerful in the Bible as Jeremiah, with joints stiff from spending the night in the stocks, prophesies to a stiff necked Pashhur.
And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, shall go into captivity, and to Babylon you shall go; there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.
The story of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry could have ended with these words as Jeremiah dropped the mic to the floor and walked off the biblical stage, but that is not how struggling faith works as we hear Jeremiah’s lamenting prayer in verses 7 – 10 highlighted by these words that define his prophetic ministry:
If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.”
Jeremiah did not want to a prophet. He did not enjoy the work to which God had called him when Jeremiah was still a child. There was no joy in the message God has chosen for Jeremiah to share with the religious and political leadership of Judah. It was a message Jeremiah struggled with his whole life because of it all, despite of it all, and through it all.
Jeremiah trusted in God as best he could as he delivered a prophetic message of repentance. It was a message that would cause him to become the laughingstock of Judah as he would later be imprisoned for almost a year because he would not let go of his prophetic calling in confronting the false message about faith that still is heard today – the message that faith is a guarantee to a successful life free of stress. This is not the biblical message of struggling faith that God called Jeremiah to share. There are no guarantees for being faithful to God. There is only the guarantee that God calls us to live in faith even when faith is a struggle.
Jeremiah’s faithfulness to his prophetic calling is proclaimed in verses 11-13 of today’s scripture reading from the 20th chapter of Jeremiah as the prophet proclaims that “the Lord is with me like a dread warrior therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail … Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.” The story of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry could have ended with these verses as Jeremiah dropped the mic and walked off the biblical stage, but that is not how struggling faith works. The pendulum of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry continues with the 14th verse of the 20th chapter of Jeremiah: “Cursed be the day on which I was born!” Jeremiah’s calling to prophetic ministry was a calling that would not let go of him. It was this calling that sustained him in verses 11-13 for the 20th chapter of Jeremiah when he proclaimed in confident faith that “the Lord is with me” and verse 14 “Cursed be the day” when his life was defined by struggling faith.
Struggling faith, believing in God because of it all, despite of it all, and through it all.
Struggling faith, God’s calling for us.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Struggling Faith
by Pastor Marc Brown
July 2, 2023
Accompanying Scriptures: Jeremiah 20:1-13
Fort Hill United Methodist Church
Order of Worship for July 2, 2023
Scripture Lesson Jeremiah 20:1-13
The Good News “Struggling Faith”
Music “Christ Be With Me” by Stuart Townend
Prayer
Blessing
Closing Music “Standing on the Promises” arr. Mark Hayes
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