Jeremiah 1:5,18-19

Jeremiah is set roughly a hundred or so years after Isaiah. In his day, destruction from Babylon was absolutely imminent (in fact, Babylon takes Judah captive during Jeremiah’s life). Chapter one tells of how Jeremiah is called by the LORD to be a prophet, and what that will entail. God tells him that

‘Before you were formed in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’ (Jeremiah 1:5)

That is, whatever path Jeremiah thought he was taking in life, all the things he was good at and thought in his own wisdom that God was definitely wanting him to do – all this was nothing, because God had ordained him before he was even born to be this one thing: a prophet. Of course, Jeremiah kicks against this, thinking he is too youthful to do something so great for the LORD (vs. 6), but God commands him to go, saying that He will be with him.

Isn’t this a beautiful picture of all of our lives? Most of you are youths. I am. And I know I often think of doing something great for God ‘down the track’. However true this is, it is also true that God can use us however old we are. I think of the Davids, the Jeremiahs, the boy with loaves and fishes. It doesn’t matter what age you are – since it is God that is working, not you. So often we think of building our lives up to a certain level of maturity, knowledge and wisdom so that we can finally do some great thing for God. And that I guess is a right attitude – we should be trying to grow in maturity, knowledge, love, wisdom and everything else, but we must know that God can use us in whatever state we’re in. It depends only on if we ourselves are willing. If we are attentive.

Jeremiah just about had to be willing. God didn’t even ask him really – just said ‘you shall go to all to whom I send you’ (vs. 7). However, God did give him a small test. Jeremiah saw two small visions, and God interpreted them for him – telling him what lay ahead in all his prophecy. And though the prophecy was all about judgment and calamity, and Jeremiah must have been awfully scared, knowing he would have to say this to all Israel. But God doesn’t leave him high and dry after putting him into this situation:

‘For behold, I have made you this day
A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land –
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you to deliver you’ (Jeremiah 1:18-19)

Yes, Jeremiah was in for a hard time. Yes, he was only a youth. But that all didn’t matter, for God would be with him to deliver him. That is to be our service: yes it will be hard, we may be young and inexperienced, we may not know the way, but God does, and He will be with us if we chose to follow His way.