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.”
Jeremiah 1:4-10, 17-19
“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”
But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child’. 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.
Then the LORD reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over the nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land–against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.”
Last week, I wrote about the first two lessons we learn from Jeremiah, the Reluctant Prophet. This week, I will write about two more. If you missed last week’s post, you can read it here.
Lesson #3. It’s time for us to get ready.
In verse 17, God says these very words to Jeremiah: “Get yourself ready!” The Message version says “But you–up on your feet and get dressed for work!”
No matter what your job is, it’s important to wear the right clothes, right? When I’m staying home with my son, I wear something I can play on the floor in and get up and down easily. When I’m going to work, I wear something that looks professional so that (hopefully) the kids I work with will take me seriously.
But what does it mean to get dressed for God’s calling?
Luckily, Ephesians and Colossians instruct us how we should get dressed for this work. In order to face the world daily and be effective messengers for God, we must clothe ourselves in “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12), as well as the full armor of God–the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the gospel shoes of peace, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:13-17).
These instructions are further equipment from God. Truly He does equip us when He calls us and gives us everything we need to get ready.
I don’t know about you, but when I read my Bible and look at the world today, I see we are closer than ever to the end times. The Word is alive and timeless, and these words spoken to Jeremiah are still relevant for us today.
The enduringword commentary says:
“Jeremiah’s focus was upon Judah in the last decades before the Babylonians conquered it. Yet his work as a prophet was not only for Judah, but also for the nations – and for us today.”
The imagery God uses to describe how He will make Jeremiah in verse 18 is a lot like armor: “Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land”.
When I think of a fortified city, two scenes come to mind from the same trilogy of movies. Hello, Lord of the Rings. Please bear with me for a geeky moment.
I think of Helms Deep, cut into stone and the safe haven for the people of Rohan. I also think of the city of Minas Tirith in Gondor, the white city, also cut out of stone. Evil attacked both of these cities but they had fierce defenders in Gandalf the White and in Aragorn’s army of summoned oathbreakers.
We too have a fierce defender inside of us, the Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell in us when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
Jeremiah 1:19 goes on to say, “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.”
We will face fights in this world, we will face hardships and difficulties, but Jesus promised in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus died and was resurrected so that He holds the keys to Hell and death. Death is the greatest power in the world, and the God we serve has overcome that. How can we be afraid of anything?
We have spiritual armor to protect us, and the only God who defeated death on our side. It’s time for us to stand up and get ready.
Lesson #4. God is with us.
Scripture echoes this truth time and time again:
In Exodus 33:14, God told Moses, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
In Joshua 1, “For the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
In Matthew 1:23, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means “God with us”.”
In John 14, when Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit, He said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
And of course at the end of the gospels, when Jesus sets the Great Commission for His disciples there and for us today, His last recorded words are, “And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”
God called Jeremiah and sent him to speak to the nations, but He did not make Jeremiah go alone. The NIV version says, “…for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.” The Message version says, “I’ll back you up every inch of the way.”
We never walk alone and we never have to do anything alone. Immanuel, God, is with us.
We are not alone. We are not defeated. We are never “too anything” for God to use us. Look at the list of reluctant figures in the Bible stories. God used them; He can absolutely use us.
Like Jeremiah, we are called. Like Jeremiah, God is with us. Like Jeremiah, our story of where we have been will never be rendered useless, nor will God take away our identity. And like Jeremiah, it’s time to get ready, because if we are faithful, God promises to “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:10)
Let us be faithful, and watch the flood come. Amen!
Blessings,
~Lynne
Leave a Reply