LOVED BY GOD HATED AMONG MEN

Jeremiah was an international prophet in his days. He spoke the truth, lived for the truth and was passionate about the things of God. Bible scholars made us realize that he had no single convert or follower because no one believed in him. He was hated and despised by men but loved by God. In 1 Kings 22, Micaiah son of Imlah was hated by Ahab and probably by those in power. Ahab hated him because he spoke the mind of God without adding or removing from it. Ahab wanted to fight Ramoth Gilead and he told Jehoshaphat to join forces with him. They enquired from the prophets of Ahab whether they should go to battle or not. All Ahab's prophet told him what he wanted to hear. He was told to go ahead with his plans assuring him of victory. Jehoshaphat wasn't convinced about the authenticity of the message those prophets gave so he demanded they hear from another prophet: "The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”(1 Kings22:8).

I am writing this piece to someone who has been hated by men for speaking and standing for the truth. Sometimes, you seem to be lonely because your opinion doesn't flow with the generality of what people are saying simply because theirs is tainted with corruption and lies. Sometimes, you may be surprised seeing fellow believers toeing the path of popularism instead of the path of righteousness and you feel lonely and despised. I am here to tell you that you are loved and not forgotten. You are not the first to feel isolated because you think, talk and act differently. There were other prophets in the time of Jeremiah who "prophelied", they made Jeremiah look odd because he stood for the truth. Despite all this, he didn't waver neither did he turn back from the path of righteousness. Don't feel bad when the world around you hate you for not compromising.

The life of a believer is not meant to conform to the normal day-to-day life on earth: "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you" (John15:19). That's why Jesus said the path we walk is a narrow one. The narrow path is a lonely path. Only a few walk in it."But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Mt7:14). Keep walking on that path, Jesus is seeing all you're going through. This journey will soon come to an end and we'll meet our master to give us our reward. Your goal is to keep walking on that path of righteousness despite the hatred of men. You may have been hated by men and isolated but know this, you're loved by God.