God's Word as Heartburn

But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. - Jeremiah 20:9

There are some strange images for God’s Word in the Bible, and this is one of them. It sure sounds like Jeremiah is talking about heartburn or maybe a queazy stomach. Regardless, it’s not a pretty picture.

There are a couple of things worth noting in this passage today besides how unusual the image is.

The first is that it’s interesting that Jeremiah would even want to try to hold it in - this is God’s Word, given to Jeremiah to share with the people, after all! But the stuff God was telling Jeremiah didn’t match with what Jeremiah wanted to tell others. It was too challenging, too risky, too justice-oriented and not ‘God is love’ oriented enough. Is there a word from God in your life that you are tempted to stuff, to hide (at least around certain people that you want to impress)?

The second point of interest is that pushing down God’s Word made Jeremiah sick and tired. He just couldn’t keep it up. Eventually he had to come clean and let his inside world match the outside world - and we do that when we either erase our values and the God-stuff on the inside or we finally let it out and cause some trouble on the outside. Do you sense the tension in you pointing one way or the other, towards diminishing what God has been saying or towards finally coming out with it and causing a stir by living more authentically even though it will cause waves?