Jeremiah wishes he could just keep quiet and have people stop hounding him, attacking him for what he is saying. But he can’t keep silent. If he does, the words burn within him. On the road to Emmaus, the disciples’ hearts burn within them when the Lord is speaking His word to them, teaching them about the Christ from the prophets. That’s an effect the Lord can have on someone when He’s speaking to them; their hearts burn within them. If you feel that, the Lord’s trying to say something, trying to move you to something. Go!

Jeremiah has a calling. It’s a gift, but he’s seeing it like a curse. They call him the weeping prophet. Calling your blessing a curse would do that to you I would suppose.

That makes me think of something else I wrote this week. Let me quote myself here: The suffering is a blessing. He’s working His salvation in us and through us. It is for our good. It is for His glory. Don’t look to your problems and complain and sink into the pit. Look to God and give thanks and sink into His arms.

That’s a good response to suffering: look to God, give thanks, sink into His arms.

Jeremiah does find a proper response to the suffering. In verse 13 he says, “Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord!” except that he gives deliverance from enemies as the reason. Yes, that’s a reason to rejoice, but there’s always a reason to rejoice. God is always perfect and kind and good and offering His salvation!

Jeremiah’s proper response was to work for the pleasure of the Father as his aim, not avoiding displeasure for himself, and certainly not getting a good response from people.

When we live to please our Father, then the heart is what matters. We would respond to the burning heart because we wanted to please Him and go where He’s leading, even if it’s a hard choice to make. We would do as He pleased without considering the consequence because we’d have our reward, not in the result, but in His smile.