Being a prophet is hard. I’m not speaking from firsthand experience, but I have spent a lot of time reading the bible and I think my claim is justified.
Let’s look at the facts:
1) When you’re a prophet you go tell people things they don’t want to hear and in return they hate you. Take Jeremiah for example.
“I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long.” Jeremiah 20:7-8
2) You can’t even keep things to yourself if you wanted. Jeremiah didn’t want to tell people everything God was saying, but he just couldn’t keep it inside.
“But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot.” Jeremiah 20: 9
3) You can never hide from God. Jonah was told to go to Nineveh, but instead he decided to run away via boat. But God found him and by chapter 3 he had been swallowed by a giant fish, spit back up and was on his way to Nineveh.
4) You are sent to be an example for the people. Like Hosea. He married a seriously scandalous woman who wasn’t a fan of being faithful, yet he never stopped loving her. He did this because “like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” Hosea 1:2 So he was a living example for how the people are treating God, but how He would love them regardless. Doesn’t sound like the best job ever.
5) You always do what you are told. God told Ezekiel his wife was going to die and he was not going to mourn. God said,
“Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead.” Ezekiel 24:16-17
Seriously? Does anyone else find this mildly absurd? Granted, before chapter 24 I had no idea Ezekiel was married, but I’m betting he really loved his wife and was truly saddened to hear she was going to die. Now, in the bible it just says he went to talk to the people in the morning and that evening his wife died and he didn’t mourn. But I just have to wonder if he didn’t spend a little time yelling at God first. I know I would have. Maybe that’s why I’m not a prophet…even though Ezekiel might not have understood God’s purpose in this act, he understood that God’s reasoning is always best.
Need I say it again? Being a prophet is hard.
So why the hay would anyone want to be a prophet? Maybe because the greatest things imaginable happen to them.
Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den and got to hang out with lions all night because God wouldn’t let them eat him (Daniel 6)
Zechariah had a vision and saw an angel of the Lord and satan talking (Zechariah 3:1)
John saw everything that happened in Revelation like it was happening right in front of his eyes, not in a dream (Revelation)
Elijah got taken up to heaven so he never had to experience death (2 Kings 2:11)
Those things do not happen to just anyone.
Not only is the life of a prophet challenging, but so is the life of a follower of Christ. But with all the trials and pain you endure, come the biggest and best rewards. You have to take the great with the awful. But you know what? I finally believe it’s worth it.
