being honest with our feelings.

18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
to see trouble and sorrow
and to end my days in shame? (Jeremiah 20)

Jeremiah's pain is intense; he hurts so much from all the rejection and feelings of inadequacy. No matter how hard he tries to warn the Israelites, they reject him. No matter how hard he tries to avoid them, the truth springs up out of his mouth and again he is put down. He is in a place of utter sadness, and thus, he begins to wish he was never born. He begins to question his existence.

I think it's important for us to realize that our days on this earth are not guaranteed to be free of failure, rejection or pain. There will be times when we feel so completely forlorn, but it's okay to experience it. We can't just shrug it off. We can't just ignore the reality of these feelings. Jeremiah doesn't conjure up pseudo-confidence and try to make everyone think he's okay. He doesn't put up a front.

Instead, he pours his heart out to God...HONESTLY. He doesn't candy-coat it. He doesn't generalize it. He just tells it like it is. We need to be like Jeremiah, in that even when we're not happy with the situation God has placed us in, instead of pretending we're okay, we need to tell God we're not okay...and perhaps He will help us get through it okay.