I love the Bible.

It’s unedited. Unsanitized. Emotional. Real.

As I read it, I read about God. And myself.

All 66 books comprise God’s “love letter” to mankind. And, within His “letter” we’re reminded that God used real-life, ordinary people to pen the words God wanted written down. (2 Peter 1:21)

Jeremiah (the Old Testament prophet, not the bullfrog) prophesied during a horrible time in Israel’s history (well, all the prophets prophesied during horrible times in Israel’s history.) With the imminent attack and decimation at the hand of the Babylonians in view, somehow Jeremiah found within himself the courage to trust God and praise Him:

“Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord!…”

Very next verse:

“Cursed be the day on which I was born!….” (Jer. 20:13-14)

Apparently, the distance between “peace” & “crazy” is one verse.

One commentator described this “bipolar” episode in Jeremiah like this:

“Another tide of depression engulfed the prophet.”

Does this “tide of depression” in Jeremiah diminish my faith in God as I read it?  No. Oddly, it strengthens it. Why? Because I look at Jeremiah and am able to say, “You too?”

It gives me “peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:6-7) to know that during those times in my life when I sincerely shout, “Sing to the Lord!”, one minute, and “Cursed be the day I was born!”, the next, that people in the Bible felt the very same way.

The lives of Jeremiah, the writers of the Psalms, and most any other person God used in Scripture, give us permission, as believers, to be gut-level honest with God (He knows what’s in our heart anyway.) They give us permission to feel like we’re, at times, going crazy.

God, in response, says,

“You’re not crazy, my beloved. You’re normal. I never said it would be easy trusting Me. But please, trust Me. I’ve got this.”

I love you, Nick