上帝指示耶利米去買一條新的腰帶（一條寬的麻質男用腰帶，可兼做皮夾使用），當作「視聽教材」埋在陰濕泥濘的伯拉河畔，日後上帝又指示他把腰帶挖出來，耶利米找到腰帶時，它已腐爛不堪使用了！這個實例的教訓十分清楚：上帝選民如果世世代代緊緊的跟隨上帝，就會享有上帝的豐盛，但因他們行惡太多，就只能淪於無用、腐朽的地步，正如這條腰帶一樣。

        回想一下過去一個禮拜裡，曾經與你講過話的人，算算看有多少？家人、同事、同學、朋友、鄰居、服務員、店員，可別忘了和你打過電話或寫過信，或者有一面之緣的人啊！在這些人中減去基督徒還有多少？五位、十位、還有更多？這個數字表示每個禮拜你都有等量的機會為這個沒有方向的世界提供希望、鼓勵與見證。
        耶利米藏起來的麻布腰帶很快就腐爛而不堪使用，同樣的，你若隱藏你自己──像猶大一樣──很快就會有腐敗無用的危機，肌肉不使用就會萎縮無力，屬靈的肌肉亦然，惟一的治療就是鍛鍊──而且是不斷的鍛鍊！
        依你看，現在是走出隱密處，為上帝鍛鍊自己的好時機嗎？今天就到基督教書房看看找一點福音單張，然後在這個禮拜裡找──或抓一些機會，向你遇到的人傳上帝的好消息。

先知的回報
        為了傳遞上帝的話，耶利米得到的是聽者的怒言咒罵和危害他性命的陰謀──這些都發生在他家鄉（耶11：18-21）！比較一下耶穌在祂稱為「本家」的城裡所遭遇的一切（太13：54-58）。

人們認不出「機會」是因為「機會」總是化裝成艱鉅的工作出現。

English

        As a visual aid to the nation, Jeremiah is instructed by God to buy a new girdle (a wide linen sash used as a man's belt and wallet) and to bury it in the moist, muddy bank of the Euphrates River. Later, when instructed by God to dig it up again, Jeremiah finds the belt in a predictable condition—rotten and useless. The object lesson is clear: God's chosen people, once bound close to Him and for generations filled with His riches, have become as useless as a rotten linen girdle because of their involvement with sinful excess.

        Think back over the last seven days and count up the number of people you have talked to in that period of time: family members, fellow employees, classmates, friends, neighbors, service people, shop clerks. Don't forget those you spoke to by phone or letter, or over the back fence.
        Now subtract the number of those who are already Christians. How many are left—5,10, 20, or more? That represents the number of opportunities you have each week to offer hope, encouragement, and a word of witness to a lost world.
        Jeremiah's hiding of the linen girdle quickly spoiled its usefulness. In much the same way you may be hiding yourself and— like Judah—are in danger of becoming spoiled and useless. Muscles that are never used soon atrophy and weaken; the same is true for spiritual muscles. The only known cure is exercise—and plenty of it! Is it time for you to come out of hiding and get some exercise in the work of the Lord? Drop by your Christian bookstore and pick up a few gospel tracts. Then look for—and seize— a few of these opportunities to tell your world about God's Good News this week.

A Prophet's Recompense
        For preaching the Word of God, Jeremiah was rewarded with the scorn of his hearers and a plot against his life—in his own hometown (11:18-21)! Compare the experience of Jesus in the city He called home (Matthew 13:54-58).

The reason some people don't recognize opportunity is because it usually comes disguised as hard work.