212. A Mighty Terrible One
Jeremiah 20:11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
The Lord is with me: that’s a promise. The Lord is a mighty terrible one: that doesn’t sound like a promise. But it is. The beauty of this promise is that the Lord will win for me over all enemies. The Enemy (Sin, Death, Devil) will not prevail, for my Lord is mighty and terrible against them. This is a good news promise for me, since my enemies are always around and in me to destroy, steal and kill. But I have a mighty one with me who will do terrible things against them. If Jesus is with me, I can rest secure and comfortable in His strong hands. The forgiveness of sin is a mighty power that fights for me against the Enemy. The Resurrection of Christ is a terrible power that violently overthrows Death forever. The Devil has nothing in me and Death is defeated utterly forever. God is with me to protect and save.
The immediate context is the promise for Jeremiah personally to protect him from his persecutors. These people, who are used by the spiritual enemies, will stumble; they will not prevail; they will be greatly ashamed and not prosper; and finally, the everlasting confusion of Sin, Death and Devil will never be forgotten, ever. This is a guarantee of victory and eternal life. The promise is extended to each of us in all the conditions of life in which we find ourselves. The world and the flesh will be used by our Enemies to continue their assaults on the soul, but they will not prevail for the mighty terrible one is with me.
This promise is assured to us in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Life is mine forever and nothing can take it from me. We do not see how terrible and violent the Resurrection of Christ really is. That Resurrection is with us and in us now. And we know our bodies will rise again to be with the Lord forever at the Last Day. This is an awesome promise from a terrible God.