Read: Jeremiah 1:4-9

Beware of giving up too soon. Our emotions are not reliable guides. John Piper

别太快放弃！我们的情绪并不可靠。─约翰·派博

Before you were born I set you apart. Jeremiah 1:5

你未出母胎，我已分别你为圣。-耶利米书1章5节

In 1986, John Piper nearly quit as minister of a large church. At that time he admitted in his journal: “I am so discouraged. I am so blank. I feel like there are opponents on every hand.” But Piper didn’t walk away, and God used him to lead a thriving ministry that would eventually reach far beyond his church.

在1986年，约翰·派博差点辞去一间大教会的牧师之职。当时他在日记中写道：「我很沮丧，感到徒劳无功，甚至觉得四面楚歌。」后来派博牧师并没有离开，他除了牧会，上帝还使用他开创了「渴慕神事工」，最后影响更多的人。

Although success is a word easily misunderstood, we might call John Piper successful. But what if his ministry had never flourished?

人们常误解什么是成功，就如我们认为派博牧师是成功的，但假设他的事工并未发展和兴旺，那他又是否成功呢？

God gave the prophet Jeremiah a direct call. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” God said. “Before you were born I set you apart” (Jer. 1:5). God encouraged him not to fear his enemies, “for I am with you and will rescue you” (v. 8).

上帝呼召先知耶利米说：「我未将你造在腹中，我已晓得你；你未出母胎，我已分别你为圣」（耶利米书1章5节）。上帝鼓励他不要害怕他的敌人，祂说：「因为我与你同在，要拯救你。」（8节）

Jeremiah later lamented his commission with ironic language for a man with a prenatal calling. “Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!” (15:10).

耶利米这个未出生就得到呼召的人，后来用讽刺的口吻，哀叹上帝赋予他的使命：「我的母亲哪，我有祸了！因你生我作为遍地相争相竞的人。」（15章10节）

God did protect Jeremiah, but his ministry never thrived. His people never repented. He saw them slaughtered, enslaved, and scattered. Yet despite a lifetime of discouragement and rejection, he never walked away. He knew that God didn’t call him to success but to faithfulness. He trusted the God who called him. Jeremiah’s resilient compassion shows us the heart of the Father, who yearns for everyone to turn to Him.

上帝确实看顾耶利米，但他的事工从未兴盛或成功。犹大国的百姓不曾悔改，他只能看着他们被屠杀、被掳掠并分散各处。尽管耶利米一生不断遭遇打击与拒绝，但他从来没有离开，他知道上帝要他忠心而不是要他成功，他全然信靠那位呼召他的上帝。耶利米对百姓的怜悯始终不渝，显示天父也渴望每个人都回转归向祂。

Do you sense a call from God? Where in your calling have you encountered discouragement? How do you define success, and how do you react to it when you experience it?

你感受到上帝的呼召吗？回应呼召后在何事遭遇到挫折呢？你认为什么是成功？成功之时，你又如何回应呢？

整理：于姊妹