I had a buddy years ago that just kind of had a way with words. He was a trucker . . . but not with a stereotypical trucker’s mouth . . . in fact, this sinner saved by grace was marked by speech seasoned with grace and he always talked about the Lord and life in Christ . . . and he would talk about it with passion and enthusiasm. He loved the Lord. And, while I recall Him as generally a kind of upbeat person, he had his struggles . . . on many fronts . . . and, far from hiding them away, he wore them on his sleeve often . . . talking about the tough times as well as the blessings in Christ. And one time, in talking about his roller-coaster life . . . and the emotional swings from mountain top to valley floor . . . this buddy of mine . . . who had a way with words . . . put it like this . . . “I’m up and down like a toilet seat!”

What brings such a earthy piece of wisdom to mind this morning is a passage in Jeremiah where the prophet seems to hit the wall with the unpopularity of his ministry. He’s had it with the persecution and derision he’s suffering because of the hard message God has called him to deliver. Here’s how I’d summarize the prophets one-way conversation with the Lord . . .

“Lord, you’ve deceived me . . . I thought serving you would make a difference . . . instead I’m in derision daily . . . everyone mocks me. I speak the word of the Lord because You’ve told me to and all I get is reproach. So I said, “I’m done . . . no more . . . I’m not going to talk about You or Your plans anymore.” But I can’t do that! . . . for Your words are burning in me . . . trying to keep them in is impossible . . . it wears me out to try and hold back. So I will speak . . . my voice will be heard as God wills . . . for the Lord is with me as a mighty awesome One . . . and my persecutors will not prevail. Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! . . . Cursed be the day I was born . . . why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” (Jer. 20:7-18)

I don’t know if it really comes out in my summary . . . but as I read it this morning . . . I’m thinking this guys up and down . . . like a toilet seat.

Not judging Jeremiah in anyway . . . instead, sympathizing . . . trying to imagine what it cost him to obey God in the service God had ordained for him. Empathizing with his weariness of rejection . . . understanding his desire to just “shut ‘er down” and seal his lips . . . and then being inspired by the burning passion within himself to speak the word of the Lord. To relate to the flash of encouragement he experiences as his eyes turn heavenward and he’s reminded that awesome God is in his corner . . . to smile and nod my head as, for a moment, his heart sores in praise and song . . . and then, to marvel as he crashes back into his reality and wishes he’d never been born.

Now, to be sure, Jeremiah’s calling and life experiences were pretty extreme and I have no experiential context to truly appreciate the price he paid for faithfulness . . . but there is, for me at least, a connect point with the prophet. A certain level of appreciation of what it is to be “up and down like a toilet seat.” Not to be trite . . . of flippant . . . for the trip is real . . . the roller-coaster ride can be difficult. You can loose your bearings . . . you can get tired and maybe even feel a bit sick to your stomach from the constant back and forth swinging emotion . . . you kind of lose your stability . . . feel like your a flake . . . as you waver from “No I won’t” to “Yes I will” . . . as you flip back and forth from “Praise the Lord” to “Curse the day I was born.” Again, I know Jeremiah’s situation was so extreme, but I’m thinking that the up and down experience is familiar to most, if not all, believers.

And as I’ve stared at this passage and thought on it . . . I’m encouraged by a couple of things. One, the Lord doesn’t let go. Jeremiah wants to give up . . . wants to shut up . . . but the reality of the living word of the living God within him will not be stifled . . . the God reality that Jeremiah knows to be true burns within him and compels him to be faithful. God keeps nudging Jeremiah on. And the second bit of encouragement is God’s grace in reminding Jeremiah that the God he serves is “with me as a mighty awesome One.” Oh, how I need to look up during those down times . . . and see the mighty awesome One through my eyes of faith . . . and know again the promise of Him who is faithful . . . that He is with me . . . and has pledged to never leave me or forsake me . . . to know afresh that He is great and that He is near.

My trucker friend loved the Lord . . . and sought to serve Him to the best of his ability. And though he knew what it was to be “up and down” I recall him as always looking up . . . always knowing that His God was an awesome God. Father, help me when I’m down to look up . . .