What Have You Gotten Me Into?

Photos by Joe Walenciak

I'm going to speak to a group in February about the work we are doing in Guatemala.  Jeremiah 20 is the scripture I was given.  I'm not sure the last time I spent much time reading Jeremiah, but I have really been enjoying this.  Jeremiah was out prophesying (which is what prophets do), and Pashur the priest had him beaten and put in stocks.  After his release, Jeremiah declared judgment on Pashur and on the people of Judah.

  

And then something remarkable happened.  Jeremiah started complaining to God.  And what an amazing complaint it was!  It was a five-point complaint;

• First, Jeremiah ask's God, "what have you gotten me into?"
• Second, Jeremiah says that God is soooo good there is no way he (Jeremiah) can remain silent!
• Third, Jeremiah is frustrated that everyone is waiting for him to make a mistake so they can catch him and ridicule him.
• Fourth, Jeremiah declares that God will triumph!
• Finally, just when we are expecting a big positive finish, Jeremiah curses the day he was born!

This has left me doing a lot of processing.  What have you gotten me into, God?  It doesn't matter...you are amazing.  But when I tell people how amazing you are, they turn against me.  Of course you will win, God.  Oh, why was I ever born?!?!

At first glance, I began to wonder whether Jeremiah was mentally sound, but then I began to realize that Jeremiah is probably sharing what is in the heart of anyone who has ever responded to a calling from God.  God usually throws us into the middle of things we never expected and allows us to be used in huge ways.  The more we do that, the more we find ourselves in someone's crosshairs.  And even though we know that God loves his people and will be victorious, our human frailty sometimes leaves us yearning for escape.

I swore I would never be a teacher.  I never wanted to travel.  I never had much interest in the Hispanic world.  And now God has me up to my ears in ministries in Guatemala!!  Lord, what have you gotten me into?  In the midst of all that, there is one incredible story after another, and I just can't keep them to myself. God is doing amazing things.  It is amazing, though, how many people out there seem to be watching for me screw up, and they usually don't have to wait too long.  I know that God is in control, but sometimes I wonder what a "simpler" life would have been like.  Wow.  So Jeremiah went through the same struggle.

We are not called to be happy, but we are called to be faithful and grateful.  When we choose to be grateful, I think that God helps us experience joy in what we do.  But even the most joyful people sometime curse the day they were born.  

This picture in this blog is a young lady named Angelica at the Guatemala City garbage dump.  She is poor and hungry and subject to all kinds of dangers, and sometimes I wonder why innocent children suffer this way.  Where are God's people that they allow such things to happen?  Someone has to do something!  Oh, wait, I am someone.  We are all someone, and everyone of us is simply one decision away from making a huge difference in someone's life.  We may wonder what God is getting us into...certainly nothing we ever expected...but then again, if it was part of our own plan, we would probably have taken credit for the whole idea!  I've seen such amazing things in Guatemala, and sometimes when I try to share them, I get some amazing, generous responses.  I also hear a lot of criticism and see what can only be defined as jealousy.  I know that life would have been much easier if I had just stayed home and sat at my desk...but I also know that this is not the life I would have wanted.  If I could go back, yes, I would do some things differently, but I would not trade my life for anything.  In very tired and frustrated moments, though, I admit that I sometimes wish that I was not up to my ears in Guatemala!!

God is good, and he loves his children.  Pray that his church will love the world like he does.