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Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘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.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;for you shall go to all to whom I send you,and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’ Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,‘Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,to pluck up and to pull down,to destroy and to overthrow,to build and to plant.’ (Jeremiah 1:4-10)
Think of the hardest job you've ever had. Think of the worst job you've ever had. Sometimes those are two and the same. But whatever job or jobs came to mind, let me ask you, "Have you ever been a prophet?" And I don't mean being an outspoken critic in your church; I mean a biblical prophet, called by God in a different era, unusually under a kind or queen, and your job was to speak God's judgment on that kingdom. Ouch. It was not an easy job. It was usually a job not sought after; it was just given to you by God. Here is Jeremiah's call. I've known about Jeremiah longer, because before I could read, my Mom would say to us boys if we were crying, "Who do you think you are, Jeremiah?" I didn't know then what that meant, but I came to find out. She knew Jeremiah through her church life that he was the weeping prophet. Such was the power of his message and expectation that he wept a lot for his people and for himself charged with this task of using the right words to bring the message of God to a disobedient people. One scholar has said that Jeremiah embodied the message of God and felt the anguish of God and that of the people. Yet, he was the right man at the right time for the task.
We notice that the call from God came to this prophet even before he was born; in the womb Jeremiah was consecrated and appointed. Even as the boy says he is too young, God reassures him that if God calls us, he will equip up and ready us for the task. God calls the prophet to not have fear, for God was with him, and God gave Jeremiah the words he was to speak. Notice that God gave the prophet words "to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
In our daily life we too are called to serve the Lord. We are to use the God-given words that we have heard in our churches, our devotional life, our experiences, and our memories to bless, heal, transform, and to build up. Ours is a job of bringing hope to a people that are lost and drowning in their sins; and we can do that lovingly.
PRAYER: Lord God, just as You called Jeremiah, You are calling us to share Your words. Grant us those words, the assurance that we are not alone, and that You are with us, and the strength that takes away our fear of serving You. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
