Laurie Hopkins

July 29 2018

Fire Shut up in my Bones

Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. Jeremiah 20:9

The Lord had placed His word within Jeremiah to speak to the people.
It was a word the people were not willing to receive and Jeremiah was treated poorly because of the message he brought forth.
Jeremiah, in his discouragement, decided he would not speak the word of the Lord any longer.
“But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones.”
There was a pressure to the word of the Lord within him.
“I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.”
And the pressure of the word that needed to go forth required energy to “not release”.
Jeremiah was wearied by his decision to withhold the word of God and after a time he could no longer hold it back.
The Lord has deposited His word within us generally but He has also deposited a specific word to release, within each one of us.
When we choose to not release the specific word the Lord has given us to release in the world, that fire will burn within us and will weary us.
Are you weary today?
Is it because you are holding back a word that is to be released?

“Open your mouth wide and I will fill it” Psalm 81:10.

Open up your mouth, in faith, and the Lord will release the word that He has deposited within you. There is no benefit to fighting the fire of the word that burns within your heart and your very bones.

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

The word the Lord has deposited will go forth regardless of your participation.
Don’t allow your lack of participation to burn within you and weary you.

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July 28 2018

Called to be Comfortors

So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. Job 2:13

Then Job answered and said: “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do,

If your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; but I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.” Job 16:1-5

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15

We are called to be comforters; to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. We are not called to give empty words or shake our heads at the situations of others.

Job’s friends did best when they sat with him 7 days and didn’t speak.

Once they opened their mouths, Job described their words as “words of wind” and suggested that their words were like the shaking of their heads against him.

Job reminded them that if they were in his situation, the words of his lips would “relieve your grief”. Obviously that wasn’t the situation he found himself Him.

There is power in our words – words bring both life and death.

We must be very careful when comforting those around us that we speak only life and comfort, not death and judgement.

Consider carefully how you would want your grief to be relieved by those around you and then respond in kind to those who find themselves in those situations.

If you can be nothing else, be kind.