Jeremiah (Bible in 90 Days)

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How do you measure success? Is it all about money and how much stuff you have or how expensive each item is? Is it about how many friends you have or how popular you are? What your job title is or how influential you are? Those are all characteristics that society finds successful. But God finds success in a different light.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that all those things are meaningless without God—He should know because he had all of that and more. But what is the point of having worldly success if God doesn’t find you successful?

Jeremiah was a man who the world would have declared a failure. He was poor, no one listened when he spoke, he was thrown in prison at one point and he was rejected by his king, friends and family.

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However, God wasn’t looking at those things—God looked at Jeremiah’s heart and saw that it was good. Jeremiah stood alone speaking God’s word and weeping for the doomed fate of God’s cherished country. God saw the faith; sacrifice and love Jeremiah had for him and the people of Judah and considered Jeremiah a true success.

Jeremiah’s message centered on this theme: Repent and turn to God or you will be punished. He spoke, the people did not listen and they were punished. Jeremiah ends with the prophecies of destruction coming true—the country of Judah is crushed and its people either went into exile in Babylon or they perished by sword or famine.

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Jeremiah showed tremendous faith and courage throughout his life. He took the message he was called to share very sincerely and prayed for those who dismissed him. He presents a good example of success in God’s eyes.

“The Lord game me this message: I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4