“You want me to do what?!” Ever been intimidated by a job that you felt was just too far over your head? Welcome to the prophet Jeremiah’s world. The Almighty God called Jeremiah to be his spokesman to God’s people of Israel. If you know nothing else about Jeremiah’s ministry, you should know this: He was faithful; and because of it, he was persecuted and disliked. There had to have been times that he thought, “I just want to be liked.”

The truth is that we all want to be liked. But because God has called on us to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth and teach everything that he commands, that means that not everyone will listen. If we’re faithful, there will be times that people don’t like what we have to say. As a church that remains faithful to the Word of God and as individuals who strive to do the same, sometimes, tired from the “battle,” we slump over and think, “I just want to be liked!”

At those times, remember that Jesus loves you even when rejected. He knows you. He has set you apart. As you remain faithful as his witness, he likes you . . . he really, really likes you. 

Just look to his cross for proof! Let his words in commissioning Jeremiah to be his prophet comfort you as you strive to be his witness: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:5).