Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more 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.
There are times where I become discouraged either by feedback I receive after preaching or from feeling internal dissatisfaction with my talent when compared to my taste in preaching. In those moments, I am tempted to give up, quit, admit defeat, or assume that this is my sign that I am not cut out for this kind of thing.
Proverbs 6:27
Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
But I can never really put it entirely away. I cannot kill it. It resurrects. I cannot ignore it. It screams violently from within. I cannot quench it. It burns inside my bones.
1 Corinthians 9:16
For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
I feel compelled to preach, to study, to learn, to share, to understand, to be understood, to dig deep and aim high. I feel it all and never do I feel a greater sense of God's pleasure than when I am preparing a sermon, agonizing over the precise language, and delivering the fruit of my labors on a Sunday morning at church or Thursday evening at Salt. I love the hard work of preaching. I would not make it easier if I could. Part of the reward is how hard it is to achieve and it is good and godly work.
Jeremiah 20:11
But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior
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