Jeremiah 26:16-24: Against the tide.(please click here for todays passage)

My lovely pastor at the ‘Elim’ church in Wigan, Terry Jacobs, often would say: ‘’Any dead old fish can float along with the stream; it takes a live one to swim against it.’’

  • The crowd is not always right. The voice of the mob is powerful. Think about how Pilate’s decision making about the fate of Jesus was swayed by the masses. A lot of people can carry the day. But they are not necessarily correct in all they decide. The crowd can be extremely frightening, terribly noisy and overwhelmingly persuasive. But might and right are not always (often?) in agreement.
  • ‘’One with God is a majority.’’ This passage introduces us to a number of people who were prepared to move against the tide: Jeremiah, Hezekiah, Micah of Moresheth, Uriah, Ahikam, and all the people who spoke up for Jeremiah. In an age that was marked by ungodliness, not everyone was content to be driftwood in the stream. There were people of backbone and conviction.
  • Going against the tide, however, is costly and demands courage. Uriah died for his principled stand. Jeremiah would have but for the intervention of Ahikam (24). Warren Wiersbe says that the safest place in which to live is in the centre of God’s will, for there we are ready to live or die. The gallery of faith (Hebrews 11) is filled with people whose earthly fates were diverse. Some were delivered by faith; others were tortured, imprisoned and died by faith (see also Acts 12). But they were all committed to doing the will of God, and lived in submission to Him, just as Jeremiah did (14). That was the outstanding feature of their lives.

It is wisdom to know which battles to fight, and which ones to let go. But so often key victories are made in the small choices we make from day to day. We need to know where to draw the line and on which issues to take a stand. May God give us the wisdom to know and the courage to do.

Prayer: Lord God, free me from cowardice. Make my heart brave. Help me to be willing to stand alone if faithfulness to you requires it.