The One Call You Should Answer
Unlike when I was a child, and the phone rang without any identifier as to who was on the other end, today we have caller id. We know who is calling and we can decide whether or not we want to answer, ignore or send the call to voicemail. When God reached out to Jeremiah, Jeremiah tried to avoid God’s call on his life using objections like his age (too young) and his ability to speak. But in Jeremiah 1:6–10; 26:8–9, 12–15, we see how God’s calling, provision, protection and faithfulness toward Jeremiah resulted in one of the great prophets of the Bible. I pray that you too will answer God’s call on your life and yield yourself in service to Him…. despite what you may see as your limitations! Amen
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.” (Jer. 1:6–10)
Jeremiah is sometimes called the weeping prophet. He was insecure about taking on the calling God appointed him to. he knew that God’s message would be rejected by those in leadership in Jerusalem because of their history of rebellion against God and because as a young man when he was called to his prophetic duty, he would be ridiculed and threatened by those same leaders. Despite Jeremiah’s protests, God commissioned him for the work and said He would put His word in Jeremiah’s mouth.
But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! Why do you prophesy in the LORD’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. (Jer. 26:8-9)
True to Jeremiah’s fears, the people and the spiritual leaders in Jerusalem rejected Jeremiah and the message God given him to say to them. They accused him of false prophesy against the temple and against the city of Jerusalem. They seized him with the intent to kill him. Shiloh was in the Northern part of Israel and where the ark of the covenant was originally kept. But it was captured in battle by the Philistines and was never returned there. Jeremiah prophesied that the temple would suffer a similar fate. Later, the Babylonian’s would conquer the city and ransack and desecrate the temple.
Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” (Jer. 26:12-15)
Jeremiah boldly continued the mission he was given by God. He ignored the threats of the people and leaders and told them what God had given him to say to them. His firm foundation for standing up and speaking truth to power was his faith in God to protect and sustain him. His comeback to their threats was that putting him to death solved nothing. They were rebelling against God, and the only way to avoid the diasaster that He was going to bring was to repent and come back in obedience to God.
Jeremiah was young, fearful and doubtful that he was the right person to do what God called him to do. In a country that was disobedient and rebellious from the top down, God was sending Jeremiah to impress upon them that disaster was coming if they didn’t turn and come back to the LORD. In the process of fulfilling his calling to prophesy to the leaders and people of Judah, Jeremiah increased in his faith and his boldness to speak God’s truth, even in the face of great opposition from those he was sent to. Jeremiah became an important figure in biblical history, all because he remained faithful to his calling and he allowed the LORD to use him. God told Jeremiah that He had selected him for his calling even in his mother’s womb. And God promised to protect him from those who would do him harm and to give him the words to say in his prophetic mission. And God was faithful to His promises to Jeremiah. What has God called you to do and desired to use you for? You may be fearful of the opposition and doubtful of your qualifications for the assignment. But God is faithful. If He’s called you to it, He will provide what you need and see you through it. Just ask Jeremiah. When God is calling…it’s the one call you should answer!
Blessings, Rev. Glenn
