Jeremiah 1:4-10
New International Version (NIV)
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “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.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said,
“I do not know how to speak;I am too young.”
7 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.
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,”
declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me,
“I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot
and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Isn't that great. :)
God formed us...just the way He wanted us. In His eyes, His work was 'good' and therefore we were/are exactly how He wanted us to be.
God knew us...before we were born. Knowing us is different from observing His handy work, I reckon. He knew us. Our heart. Our capabilities, talents, inabilities, where we'd be weak, our strengths and so on and so forth. He knew us intimately, before we were born. Gotta love that. :)
God appointed us... Now, I know we can say He was talking to Jeremiah here, and not to all of us, but...
John 15:15-17
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus said:
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last— and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
17 This is my command: Love each other.
Check out Jeremiah's reaction after God declares, "I formed you; I know you; I appointed you..." Jeremiah kind of responds with, "Ah...I can't do what you ask of me God, because this is me; this is what I'm like. I'm not up for the job."
Then God corrects Him, saying, "Don't say that..." and not bowing to Jeremiah's opinion of himself, God gives the guy instruction to go.
In verses 17-19, God says,
17 ‘Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you.
Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.
18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land –
against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you,
for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.
God stands against Jeremiah's insecurities and says, "This is who I made you," and, "If you're going to fear anybody, fear Me, as I'm the one with the power."
God is standing firm on "I formed you, I know you - even before you were born, I knew you! - and I have appointed you... Now, here I am, telling you it's time to go. It's time to do what I have appointed for you to do...just as you are. You're ready. Besides, I'm the one with the power, not you - and I'm giving it to you to use, for my purpose." [My interpretation, of course. :) ]
This scene fascinates me, so I have to repeat it.
God says, "I formed you. I know you - even before you were born I knew you! I appointed you." And Jeremiah responds with, "I know my inabilities, my sinfulness, my weaknesses, and so on. God, you're asking me to do something I'm not capable of. Therefore, you, God, have made a mistake. You've got the wrong guy... God, you're wrong."
Hmm, hands up all those who can relate to Jeremiah's response______________ (sorry for the blank space; I had to put both hands up. ;) ) My goodness! How often has that been my response to God...
As I focused on this passage, God pointed out that Jeremiah had his eyes on himself, not on God.
Now check this out... :) A day after I read the above, sitting in church (Encounter Life Church), Pastor Murray Newman spoke of how (I cannot repeat his sermon word for word, as I cannot recall exactly what he said, but, basically...) God created 'man' to walk with Him. When God created Adam, He breathed life into his nostrils - and there Adam was, face to face with God, and free to walk with God in the Garden of Eden, until he sinned. Once sin came in, it turned Adam's face from God and onto himself, to his own sinfulness and inabilities and so on and so forth... Much like Jeremiah was doing above, don't you think? Then along came Jesus, conquered sin and death, made a way for us to get our eyes off ourselves, off our sinfulness, guilt, shame, etc and so on, and put them on God again, so we, once again, can walk with Him.
God was talking to Jeremiah, saying, "I know you, I trust you, and," more importantly, "here I am, Jeremiah, the Maker of Heaven and earth - all-knowing, all-powerful; trust me..." and Jeremiah was placing his focus on his own strengths - or lack thereof...
Now... get this... :) After the sermon, and with the picture of sin turning us from God and causing us to focus on ourselves and then Jesus coming along and conquering sin for us so we can turn our focus back to God - and that without shame, as God intended for all of us - I was talking with a friend at church and sharing how uncomfortable and anxious I was, and was becoming, about prophesying over people come the last night of our 'Prophetic Activation' course. My friend pointed my attention to God. "He'll show up..." When she said that, what do you think I did? Yep, I behaved like Jeremiah... "But I... But me... Look at my inabilities, weaknesses, sinfulness, etc..."
(Somebody give me a forehead slap! ;) )
I even went on to share how God had given me much symbolism, several years earlier, for the story of David and Goliath, (as I share here, in 5 Stones and a Sling).
A quick look at the symbolism of the 5 stones (which David collected) were:
- Faith (in God)
- Confidence
- Courage
- Determination
- Strength
and the sling represented Action...
As I was sharing that God had once said to me, "Donna, you lose it at courage every time..." I was instantly reminded of the picture that I'd received through Ps Murray's sermon and what I'd seen on reading Jeremiah 1:4-10... I had taken my eyes off God and placed them on myself. Basically, or the way I like to imagine it, I had eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil...and separated myself from God.
Where was the Tree of Life in this picture...? Where was Jesus...?
Oh! Bittersweet conviction! It got me straight through the heart, and it's still in there, working - at the hands of the Holy Spirit, to enable me to keep my eyes on God, trust that He can do what He sets out to do, that He can and will empower me as I step out to do what He appoints me to do, and to remove anxiety and unbelief from me... Thank You, God! XXXXX
Jesus made a way for us to get back to the Father, to get our eyes off ourselves, our weaknesses, our inabilities, shame and so on. He conquered sin and death and made a way for us to be one with God again; to turn our eyes and heart and faith to God again...then sent His Spirit to enable us to do that. We are a blessed people...if only we would get our eyes off ourselves...
I love that. :) And I'm so very grateful for everything God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit do to free me/us from sin and death and my/our ego. They pick us up out of the muck of our own life, our own sinfulness, and without giving up on us, with full faith in themselves, they make all things right for us, and enable us to walk with them, and enable us to be victorious...if, I say again, if we get our eyes off ourselves and back on them...
Mark 9:23,24
23 ‘“If you can”?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed,
‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’
Don't miss the quotation marks, as I have for the past umpteen years! :)
Mark 9:19-24
19 ‘You unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’
‘From childhood,’ he answered.
22 ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’
23 ‘“If you can”?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed,
‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’
Jesus, help my unbelief...
Sorry, had to share that, seeing it hit me while I was writing this. :)
Anyway...
Hebrews 12:1-3
New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
A good way to remember the 5 stones is by using your fingers:
- Faith in God = the thumb = thumbs up.
- Confidence = the pointer finger = point it at yourself; this confidence is for you.
- Courage = the middle finger........ Think about it. ;)
- Determination = the ring finger = Determination takes commitment.
- (I love this one) Strength = the smallest finger... :) That's all the strength you need...for in your weakness He is strong. :) *Thumbs up!* ;)
Oh to have a heart and faith like David's rather than what Jeremiah had when we meet him in the verses above, ay. :)
Jesus, help my unbelief! <3
Come, Holy Spirit! xxx
Thank you, God! :D XXXXXX