Ever Feel Inadequate to Follow God’s Call?
Jeremiah was called to be God’s prophet, yet he felt very inadequate. In Jeremiah 1:6, we find him expressing a common feeling among all those who realise their responsibility to serve and witness for God, “Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”
Jeremiah basically says (and I paraphrase), “What, Lord God?! You are calling me. I am the wrong guy. I cannot speak as Your messenger! I am nothing but a child!”
How many of us have felt that same way? We feel that God has made a mistake to choose us. We feel that we cannot do what He has asked us to do. We feel as foolish and as incapable as a child trying to doing a man’s job.
Yet, God persists in His affirmation of Jeremiah’s calling, and I would submit that He wants to encourage us in very much the same way. He wants us to know that, though we may feel like children, we can do His will because…
- He knows what we will can do with His power, so we should stop making excuses and start obeying. (1:7 “But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.”)
- He as our God is telling us to not be afraid because He is going to go with us. His presence should banish all our fears. (1:8 “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.”)
- He will empower us to do what He asks us to do. Just as He touched Jeremiah’s mouth, He has given us everything we need in the Holy Spirit and the Spirit will enable us to do His will. (1:9 “Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.”)
- His servants are not losers but winners. The world may think we have lost, but the truth is that all those who are God’s children are on the winning side and will prevail in all things (1:10 “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”)
With such promises, how can we not obey? It is time to stop making excuses and start obeying!