Jeremiah completely misses the point in this chapter. God is giving Jeremiah more words to convey to the people of Israel, and all Jeremiah can think of is himself. He has ceased feeling sorry for the people on whom God is pronouncing judgment (as he did in the previous chapter) and has started feeling bad for himself:
I said,
“Oh, mother, how I regret that you ever gave birth to me!
I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land.
I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone.
Yet all of these people are treating me with contempt….
LORD, you know how I suffer.
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake. As your words came to me I drank them in,
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you, O LORD, the God who rules over all. I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done. Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”
(Jeremiah 15:10, 15-18)
God keeps bringing the conversation back to judgment, and Jeremiah keeps crying, “Woe is me!” Finally, God has enough of his whining:
Because of this, the LORD said,
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me.
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman.
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them.
(Jeremiah 15:19)
The lesson here is an important one: Self-pity hinders our ability to serve God. To serve God fully, our focus must be on him. When we feel sorry for ourselves, we take the focus off of God and put it us. When Jeremiah’s focus was on God, his concern was for God and his people. Once his focus shifted, he became like the people God was judging. Instead of the people becoming like Jeremiah, Jeremiah was becoming like them. The world tells us it is natural for us to be concerned for our own well-being and to look out for ourselves, but that fact that it is the world telling us this should make us wary of heeding such advice. When we keep our eyes on God, instead of on ourselves, we realize that there is no need for us to worry about our own well-being for God will do that for us:
I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,”
says the LORD. “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.
I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”
(Jeremiah 15:20-21)
Because we are human, it is extremely easy to begin feeling sorry for ourselves when things do not go our way, but this ultimately will hinder us and not help us. True satisfaction, confidence, and comfort can only come when we are focused on God and trusting him to protect us and supply our needs.
Lord, help me to be concerned with the your ways and not my own. Keep me from feeling sorry for myself that my service to you and your people will not be hindered. Amen.