The Call of Jeremiah

The Call of Jeremiah 1:4-10

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. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

We don't know how old Jeremiah was when he received his call to the prophetic ministry - he may have been a mere teenager. However, the call he received was not something of his imagining - it was accompanied by the strength of God's Spirit and enabled him to go way beyond his own comfort-zone and take a message, sometimes uncomfortable to accept, to many people. Unknown to Jeremiah, God had been at work in his life long before he recognised it. This is called 'prevenient grace' and recognises that God's work within our life is constant, even when we are not conscious of it or become open to his presence within us.

This teaches us a number of lessons:-

1. Age is no impediment if God has called you
2. It is natural to assume that our ability to serve God is restricted to our own efforts and capabilities. However, when God calls, he also equips.
3. God already has a vision of what we are to achieve for him (Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart)
4. God cleanses the parts of us which he is to use for his glory (Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth)