When God Calls (Jeremiah 1:4-10) (NIV)

                  

“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 and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” declares the Lord.

(Please read the rest of the commission in your Bible)

 

When the prophet Jeremiah was called by God for his life’s mission, it was serious business.  God made sure that he would listen only to Him.  People could have given him an opinion of what they thought of him but the message that Jeremiah was to give stood out.

When Jeremiah was led by God.  He used the excuse of being too young but that did not impress God much.  The call on his life was so strong that he had to persist and give the message no matter how much the people opposed him.  In return, God protected him from his enemies and even gave him food in times of scarcity.  The visions God gave him were all very powerful because God was the ruler of his life.

He had the kind of faith that had a backbone to it.  He had complete trust in God and the times were harder then.  I think there is a difference between people who say that they have faith in God and those who have been trained by Him to have faith.

If anyone says that he has faith in God just wait and God will put that person to the test.  God does not take our declarations lightly.  He is very serious about them.

Jeremiah lived in a time when people’s opinions might have bothered him, but in the end, the call was so strong in his life that he kept his heart pure and focused.  In life, we meet a lot of people with many opinions, and they value them highly.  As servants of the Highest God in the end it is God who will have the last word and he will have facts to back it up.

Whenever God calls you or me, we should all listen attentively and mind our own business.  When he calls you, it is you he is calling and not your neighbor.  He requires some feedback from you but most of all an action in obedience to the calling.