The prophet Jeremiah wasn’t a quitter, but there were days he wanted to quit. Read what he lived through over the course of his forty-year ministry and you will understand why he wanted to resign. God gave him one of the toughest ministry assignments ever. The people and leaders of Judah routinely ridiculed his messages. Family members and friends from his hometown of Anathoth plotted to kill him. He was brutally beaten up and imprisoned at the bottom of a filthy cistern. He lived through the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Near the end of his life he was force-marched to Egypt where, as best we can tell, he died in exile. No wonder he’s called the “weeping prophet.” No wonder he wanted to quit.
I’m embarrassed to compare the hardships I’ve faced as a preacher with those Jeremiah endured as a prophet. My troubles in ministry seem light-weight compared to his woes. Even so, my troubles have felt crushing to me at times. Like Jeremiah, I’ve had days when I wanted to call it quits.
I hit a point where my heart was tempted to quit early in my years as a pastor. Ministry had taken a high toll on my family and on me. I was worn down by turmoil at church and tension at home. So I bought a newspaper, opened up the classified section, and began looking at painting jobs—anything that would put bread on the table and take pressure off my soul. While I didn’t consider walking away from my faith or my family, I was ready to walk away from ministry.
Praying with Jeremiah
Maybe that’s why I appreciate Jeremiah’s prayer about quitting. This prayer, recorded in the twentieth chapter of his book, reads like a verbal resignation letter. Jeremiah pours out his battered soul in hot and angry words. He complains about being pummeled for preaching God’s Word. He tells the Lord he’s ready to resign.
I suspect many pastors reading this have prayed a similar prayer of resignation. While at least one recent study has shown that, contrary to popular belief, most pastors are not quitters,[1] many of us will have days when we feel like quitting. In fact, the temptation to quit is one of the tests of a preacher’s heart. On those Blue Mondays when we feel ready to resign, we can steady and strengthen our souls as we read (and re-read) Jeremiah’s resignation prayer.
O Lord, you have deceived me
and I was deceived;
you are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long. (Jeremiah 20:7–8)
Strong words, aren’t they? Honestly, I would not have had the boldness to speak them out loud or write them down for others to read. Jeremiah essentially accuses God of tricking him into ministry. The Hebrew word for “deceive” means to entice, allure, or fool. Jeremiah says God signed him up for service without disclosing how hard it would be. He wasn’t happy with the message he was given to deliver (“Violence and destruction”) or the ridicule that came his way (“I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me”).
Preachers whose hearts are tempted to quit often share Jeremiah’s disillusionment with their calling—and sometimes with the God who called them into service. Where was the full-disclosure statement about the high cost of ministry? How can God expect anyone to put up with the garbage and grief that comes with pastoring and preaching?
Feelings versus Facts
While Jeremiah’s words about being tricked into service accurately picture his feelings, they don’t accurately represent the facts. God had not deceived him about how hard his ministry would be. In fact, God spelled things out rather clearly when he called Jeremiah into service: “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:19). Jeremiah would be attacked; his ministry would be a fight.
As pastors, we too must acknowledge God didn’t camouflage the cost when calling us into ministry. We’ve read Jesus’ warning to expect hostility (John 15:18) and Paul’s admonition to soldier up (2 Timothy 2:3–4). Still, there are times when we feel the cost is more than we can afford to pay. While we don’t want to be a quitter, at times—like Jeremiah—we want to quit.
But quitting isn’t as easy as it sounds. Listen to Jeremiah’s dilemma as he tries to resign. “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak anymore in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9). Every time Jeremiah decides to stop preaching God’s message, a fire starts burning inside him. He can’t extinguish or smother it no matter how hard he tries.
Have you ever forgotten to open the flue after lighting a fire in your fireplace? The smoke that billows into the room gets your attention in a hurry. As Jeremiah contemplates quitting, his soul becomes a fireplace with the flue shut. No matter how he tries, he can’t smother the fiery passion that burns inside him. He can’t stay silent for long.
If you’ve been called to preach, you understand Jeremiah’s dilemma. God’s Word is a fire in your bones. Like Paul, you find yourself saying, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). One of the evidences of a call to the ministry of preaching is the unshakeable, unquenchable internal pressure to proclaim God’s Word. Even when you want to quit.
The fact that Jeremiah can’t seem to quit doesn’t stop his lament. As you read the rest of his prayer, you hear him continue to complain about the lousy treatment he’s receiving: people whispering behind his back; people watching for him to make a misstep (Jeremiah 20:10). All of a sudden, for a brief, shining moment, he regains hope that God will deliver him (20:11–13). Just as quickly, he descends again into a dark place. In fact, he finishes his jeremiad by wishing he had never been born (20:14–18).
Learning from Jeremiah
What lessons should we learn from Jeremiah’s prayer and his desire to quit? Are we to conclude that the call to preach comes with a fire in our bones that never dies out? Does “once a preacher” mean “always a preacher”? Is quitting sinning? Answering these questions, especially for a preacher feeling Jeremiah’s pain and confusion, requires both careful thought and a caring heart. Some in pastoral ministry will not always remain in vocational service but will live out their calling to preach in other settings (for example, in my case, as a seminary professor). Still, all of us with a God-given passion to preach can find hope and help from Jeremiah’s example. Let me boldface three biblical truths from Jeremiah’s life that have encouraged me as a preacher in my Jeremiah moments.
God allows preachers to vent their desire to quit in a full-strength, undiluted way. While we must never lose our high and holy reverence for God, we are given freedom to pour out our hearts to God in prayer. Had I been asked to edit Jeremiah’s prayer before it went to press, I would have told him to tone down his rhetoric and sanitize his sentiments. Amazingly, God didn’t do that. Here is great consolation for our souls. Our gracious God and Father lets us speak honestly about the realities of ministry even when our perspectives get distorted by pain.
The passion to preach God’s Word is a fire not easily extinguished. Even when Jeremiah felt burned by ministry, God’s Word still burned in his bones. Even when he determined to stop speaking “in his name,” the fire continued to blaze. His complaints couldn’t smother it. His tears couldn’t douse it.
I am one of many preachers who have lived the truth of Jeremiah’s words. I have felt scorched in ministry, ready to stop speaking in his name. But the fire has continued to burn. Sometimes my passion to preach has been reduced to embers; more often it has blazed in full flame. I’m grateful the calling to preach God’s Word is fired by a God-given desire not easily extinguished.
The God who starts us as preachers sustains us as preachers. Though Jeremiah thought he was finished preaching, God was not finished with Jeremiah. When God first called Jeremiah, he made him a promise. Not a promise to shield him from trouble, but to support and sustain him through trouble: “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:19). Over the long, difficult years that followed, God kept his promise.
While I’ve not preached as long as Jeremiah or experienced anything approaching his trauma, I have known the same grace that sustained him in ministry. When I was ready to quit—when painting seemed preferable to preaching—God’s presence and mercy sustained me. His Word both comforted my soul and toughened it up. In subtle and sometimes stunning ways, he changed my situation or provided enough support to keep me going and renew my hope. I’m deeply thankful God listens to our prayers when we feel like quitting. Even more, I’m thankful his sustaining grace never quits on us.
[1] A study conducted by LifeWay Research in 2016 challenges the prevailing thinking that pastors are leaving the ministry at an epidemic rate. LifeWay’s research of 1,500 evangelical and historic black churches found that only 1 percent of pastors leave the ministry annually. Mark Dance, “Pastors Are Not Quitting in Droves,” September 28, 2016, https://factsandtrends.net/2016/09/28/pastors-are-not-quitting-in-droves/.
This article is taking from Rick Reed’s book, The Heart of the Preacher: Preparing Your Soul to Proclaim God’s Word. The hardback and digital versions of the book were released in 2019. This February, Lexham is releasing a paperback version of the book. You can order a copy of the book here.
(This material is used by permission of Lexham Press).
Rick and Linda Reed 