Jeremiah 17:16
As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
He did not hasten away from his pastoral work in following the Lord, but remained faithful in his calling as a shepherd. He did not desire or wish for the woeful day of calamity to come. That which came out of his lips was right and correct before God.
He looked to God as his hope in the day of evil and when persecution came. He asked God not to be a terror to him, but to be his hope in the day of evil. He asked that his persecutors be confounded and dismayed, and that double destruction be brought upon them while he himself was spared.
The verse is part of an Old Testament figure and representation that must be given earnest consideration. What was foretold by the Lord's servants has been fulfilled and is being fulfilled in present history. That fulfilling work begins with leaders humbling their souls before God, confessing sin, and becoming truly converted.