Irvin Wasswa- Tylertown Church LHBC
Jeremiah 1:4-10
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lordsaid to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
There was a Geico commercial which came out over ten years ago involving the heavily acclaimed American fitness instructor Tony Little. In the commercial Little is shooting an infomercial on how to get fit. In the midst of the tutorial he also shares the good news that along with being able to train people to lose weight, he was able to save money on his car insurance by switching to Geico. At the end of the commercial the camera zooms in on Little using an elliptical machine, shouting his well-known catch-phrase, YOU CAN DO IT! I tell you what rewatching that commercial got me encouraged and fired up to jump onto an elliptical and more importantly check into switching my insurance to Geico!
In the book of Jeremiah, we find a young man who was in need of some encouragement. In Jeremiah 1 the Lord spoke to Jeremiah about his call to be his prophet to the nations. God revealed to Jeremiah that he had this plan set apart for him since before he was even born. Here was Jeremiah’s problem though; he didn’t think he could do it. He thought he was too young; he thought that since he was unable to communicate like the prophets of old, there was no way he could answer the call that God gave him. Though those excuses were perhaps true in Jeremiah’s life, the reality was that he underestimated the power and ability of the Lord to work through him to do the work. In the rest of the passage God tells Jeremiah that he will take care of him, all he had to do was to choose to be obedient. God was going to give him the words to say and was going to deliver him from the harm he was going to face in his ministry. WOW!
Here is the reality friend, what God calls you to, He will see you through. Listen God has called each Christian to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). He has called us to be missionaries to our friends and neighbors (John 20:21). We are all called, but thankfully he did not leave us to figure out how to do it on our own. The bible says that He has sent us His Holy Spirit to guide and lead us as we go out and share the Gospel. The Spirit of God embolden us to step out in faith and answer when God calls us to go. What God has called you to, he will see you through. God will give you the boldness and the words to share with that lost person. He will give you the strength and encouragement you need to give that word to that friend. He has got you!
Maybe you feel like the young prophet Jeremiah in that you think you are too inadequate to answer the call God has given you. Can I encourage you today? Though you and I are in our own strength too inada You can answer God’s call. Not on your own strength or ability, but by His Spirit working in and through you. You can do it child of God. The question is will you?
What is God calling you to do today? Who is he calling you to go and minister to? Who is he telling you to go and forgive? Who is he telling you to go and share the Gospel with? Will you answer the call? Let us choose to set aside the excuses and choose to be obedient today, knowing that the Lord is with us!
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Dear Heavenly Father, help me to be sensitive to your Spirit’s calling today. Give me the strength to choose to be obedient when you call for me to go, knowing that you are with me as you promised you would be with Jeremiah. Thank you for allowing me to take part in your work. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.