The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:1-8, 10 NIV)
I'm sitting here by Penns Creek pondering the call of the Lord. I find it fascinating how the Lord calls various people to various tasks. Certainly throughout history, many names flood to our mind of the great theologians, evangelists, and missionaries that have swept the nation. Each have carried out a specific role and transformed the communities and people around them.
In the passage from Jeremiah 1, it reads "the word of the Lord came to him, saying before I formed you in your mothers womb, I knew you before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
Notice immediately thereafter Jeremiah has an excuse why the Lord must be mistaken. He responds "I do not know how to speak; I am too young." But the Lord knew precisely the words to calm his nervous state. He says to Jeremiah I will send you and command you what to say. He goes on and says to Jeremiah and I believed to each of us; Do not be afraid for I am with you, I will rescue you.
Did you ever feel as though fear was the greatest hindrance to sharing God's love. I know personally this thought crosses my mind every time I'm about to serve the Lord in speaking or teaching. For the longest time, I allowed fear to grip me and I'm certain there were words the Lord would have had me share if I had only remembered there is no reason to be afraid. He is with me and he will rescue me. The same goes for all of us. Let me be honest and say there were more times than not that I needed rescued from the gibberish coming from my own lips. Have you ever felt this? And thereafter you come down on yourself for simply not getting out of the way for God to use us.
I believe we're all called to a specific task as a follower of Christ. I also believe he calls us by love, in love and for love. It's by love he calls us because he believes in us and loves us enough to call us his very own children and his friends through his son Jesus who sacrificially gave his life for us that we might know love unconditionally. We're called in love because the Lord would not intend any harm for us. What he calls us to, he will serves through. He will equip us for the call. And for love because he commands us to love him and to love one another. Love serves with peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control and joy.
What might the Lord be calling you to today? I can be certain it's by his love and in his love and for love that he'll send us forth. What comfort knowing he called us before we were even born and knew the plans he would have for us.
Peace and comfort upon your calling. Do not be afraid to love and share the joy of salvation with others. I am with you, the Lord says. I will rescue you.
Much love to you this day.
