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)
What are things that keep you from taking action? If you're like me, you have plenty of them. Hint: They're also known as excuses. Here in this powerful passage from Jeremiah, he shares his call story, how God came to him and asked him to be "a prophet to the nations." That was enough to start the excuse express! "I'm too young!" Wrong. You will go and I will go with you (You're not alone in other words), and I will tell you what to say. For those with fear of public speaking, this is what gets us up there at least. And it is difficult; no one is really born with no fear of public speaking. There is always that one split-second when you question what you are doing and what you are to say; but God provides!
God did use Jeremiah in a great way. God's word was shared through him in many situations and God's purposes were accomplished through him. And guess what? God can use you to accomplish the purposes to which God has called you!
PRAYER: Loving God, empty me of me, and fill me with You! In that way I can serve You. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
Prayer Update: Friends, I thank you again for your prayers for our niece Nellie Ann. She was doing well on Saturday and once her family left on Sunday she became unresponsive. Her mom and dad and daughter showed up Monday and some response came back, but yesterday the doctor ran an MRI and found she had suffered another stroke. He also has found extensive internal damage in her organs by the big stroke and at this point she is at risk of a heart attack. Please continue to pray for Nellie Ann and her family. God bless you!
