Jeremiah 2 "Go and Cry"

Mom, spouse, corporate career, ...I just can not seem to manage getting much done outside of the priorities tha tgo with mom, spouse and work. I have friends that talk about finishing books, and I know parents who blog every day. I really do not understand how anyone does it. It has been two weeks since I have been able to make time to get back into my bible study and I STILL have not purchased the book that I was going to begin with some great ladies in my family. This morning, I took on the second chapter of Jeremiah. I did not get far before the Lord's word ROCKED my world. "Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying, Go and Cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying 'thus says the Lord'...

My first thoughts were, "when was the last time that I heard the word of the Lord?" Hence, my conviction and struggle expressed above for not making time with God FIRST. Our purpose is to hear from Him and truly seek with all of our heart, soul, and mind His Purpose. When I do not make time to hear from the Lord priority - everything suffers and I miss out on so many experiences that I will never get back.

A second "WOW" moment, was to hear the Lord command Jeremiah to "Go and Cry"...this is BOLD. He did not just send Jeremiah into Judah to say a few things to a few people. He sent Jeremiah into Judah to CRY to them with passion and conviction to impress upon them to turn their focus from material things, pleasing people, and exalting their own abilities, back to the Lord's purpose. There is no lasting security apart from God. I do not really believe we live in a world that is willing to "Go and Cry" for people and God's purpose anymore. One reason I believe this is because when I read this in scripture, the action of "cry" as commanded by God to Jeremiah - in my perspective, is a serious expression of desperation and heartache. I think of my 8 month old son. He is not able to speak yet and in most cases I believe that I have learned his nonverbal cues to help satisfy his needs. However, as every mom knows, there are many times his moan slowly starts to turn into a more passionate expressiveness because I am not figuring out how to satisfy the particular need. Within seconds, his face is completely red, and his voice has reached an octave that can probably be heard at Table Rock Mountain miles away in Walhalla. And he can go on like this for several minutes if I do not figure out what it is he wants. This cry, is desperation...persistent and determined, to get his point across with certainty and decisiveness, with the utmost confidence that it will help him achieve receiving an answer to his discomfort. Do we ever get this way over what it is the Lord is commanding us to do? This level of passion and boldness speaks to me and encourages me to be more radical in my Faith and purpose for Jesus Christ. I believe the Lord requires of us to "Go and Cry" out to those who need Him. I believe that every day my priorities need to align with actions that speak to what the Lord requires.

Where can I apply this in my life? One of the first areas I think of is at work. I need to cry out against gossip - and take a bold radical stand against it. This means I need to do more than just walk away or calling attention to it - I need to cry out against the action with passion and persistence and live an example of love for people without judgement consistently so that there is an undeniable presence of the Lord in my life, and in our office.

Ironically, my child is now crying - desperate for me to turn him off of his tummy because he is frustrated and unable to crawl. Okay, dad fixed it. Continuing on, a second area is with our children. I believe that we need to express honestly as we raise them how we feel about the choices they are making, the friends they are choosing, the overall path they are traveling - needs to be shared openly and children need to see our passion for their pursuit of purpose in their lives. Parents need to be committed to "crying" - to stepping up to lead their families - and teaching children to place their security in Christ Jesus. Parents need to become angry when children disobey and remain truly devoted to what the Lord requires for parenting. Parents need to "cry" - passionately remind their children of God's love for them, and share with them the promises that come from a life following the Lord for them to build on these successes and avoid repeating the failures of others that have not.

So, "Go and Cry". Okay?