It is fascinating to study the lifecycle of the salmon. Their amazing trek back to their place of origin is mind-blowing! God put this powerful instinct in these fish. They use all of their energy to go against the current the whole way back to their destination.
Looking in the writings of the prophets, we see a similar situation. The prophets continued to broadcast the truth despite great opposition. Jeremiah stated, “O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is plundered.” (Jer. 4:19, 20a) God briefed Jeremiah of how his message would be received and how He would be with him to deliver him. “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land–against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.” (Jer. 1:17-19)
Our whole land might not be plundered yet physically, but it clearly is spiritually. Truth has fallen in the streets and we see souls perishing all around us. In II Corinthians 5, Paul reveals the motivation that God has given us to move forward. “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”; (5:11a) “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”(5:14-15) God made good on His promise to Jeremiah, and He will make good on His promises to us. Let’s move forward against the current by His grace and for His glory!