Friday, December 5
Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10
[4] The LORD gave me this message:
[5] “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
[6] “O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
[7] The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you
and say whatever I tell you. [8] And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you
and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” [9] Then the LORD reached out and
touched my mouth and said,
“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
[10] Today I appoint you to stand up
against nations and kingdoms.
Some you must uproot and tear down,
destroy and overthrow.
Others you must build up
and plant.”
Some thoughts:
Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet writing around 600 BC. This book opens with a very interesting passage, particularly considering some of the issues in today’s very secular societies. What stands out immediately is that God knew Jeremiah before He formed him in his mother’s womb. In the same manner, God knew you and me before He formed us in our mother’s wombs; in fact, He chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). We get a clear idea that God knows all about us even before we existed, and it makes sense that the One who made us knows us best and has a purpose for our life. Indeed, our life began at conception in our mother’s womb as she was the first one who housed, who made a home for our little life! A closed -minded secular culture turns a willful blind eye to address this monumental truth (Isaiah 49 :1).
In Jeremiah’s case, his vocation had already been determined. Like Abraham, Moses, and Daniel, Jeremiah complained that he couldn’t speak for God. He objected to God’s call believing he was too young. He needed to hear Paul’s words to Timothy (I Timothy 4:12). Like Isaiah, God touched Jeremiah’s lips giving him words to speak. God vowed His presence and His protection. Jeremiah needn’t be afraid of the people. Time and time again, God delivered him from dangerous situations, though his life had a great deal of suffering. The book is filled with many heartfelt conversations with God revealing Jeremiah’s intimate relationship with his God. Tradition has that he was eventually stoned to death in Egypt by his own people, Jewish exiles who rejected his message.
To what task has God called you today? I’m not sure how often we remind ourselves of our part in God’s bigger unfolding of history. Whether we are out in the wide-open prairies of Kansas or in the bustling streets of Hong Kong, my guess is that most of us feel pretty insignificant in what God is doing in His Kingdom today. What difference do I really make? Is my life important, or am I just another of the billions of people on this planet for whom God cares? Such thinking is really another version of Jeremiah’s “I can’t speak for You, Lord. I’m too inconsequential in Your grand design for the world.” Not true. It’s a lie. God’s Word to you and me is the same Word He gave to Jeremiah. “I will be with you, and guide you, and give you the Words to say. Don’t make excuses and sink into your own little world. I have a purpose for you being on earth! I love you. I sent My Son to be the Saving Messiah for you. Don’t belittle Me and My precious gift with such thoughts.” Friends, the Lord knows all the details of your day. What is God saying to you in this passage concerning today? Take courage, hold still, and listen. God still accomplishes His will through very ordinary people like you and me. We may not find our names in the Bible, but we are in God’s history of the world book.
Prayer:
Father in heaven, I find it so easy to live each day focusing on the things of the day, things I must do, work, errands, bills, checking the news… Even when I read Your Word, too often it is more like another check in the to -do list for the day. In truth, though it’s embarrassing, sometimes I forget what I’ve read right after I read it. My mind is elsewhere. The intimacy of Your Words “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb” is haunting. That familiarity goes deeper than any relationship I’ve ever known. Forgive me for brushing off Your desire to lead and guide me in the path you’ve prepared, a path of eternal significance. I repent of the dullness of my mind and will. When I read Your Words, help me hold still until I hear Your voice and find Your mind in what You have to say to me. Help me revel in Your presence, This I pray through Jesus Christ, who with You and the Holy Spirit, reign One God, world without end. Amen.