Jeremiah 1:4-10
(4) Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
(5) "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."
(6) Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."
(7) But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
(8) Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD."
(9) Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
(10) See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
When did the Lord know Jeremiah? He knew him before he was even made in the womb. This tells me that God has a plan for everyone. He knows us before we are even born. As a side note, this also seems to speak to the sanctity of life in the womb.
Jeremiah knew that he was not equipped to carry out the task that the Lord gave him. However, the Lord reassured him and put the words in his mouth that he was to say. As we'll see through the coming days, Jeremiah was appointed to a very hard life. I'm not sure what Joel Osteen does with Jeremiah's life, but it would seem that Jeremiah had a deep faith and yet suffered greatly. Such is the lot of some in this world, though not in the next.
This dovetails with something I heard recently on Genesis 6. Children's bibles tend to get the story of Noah wrong. They tend to say that everyone in the world was wicked except Noah, and since he was righteous God liked him. This turns the gospel upside-down. Instead, it says that Noah found grace from the Lord. For some reason God chose Noah. Noah was declared "righteous," yet we know later on he got drunk and passed out naked in his tent. It would seem that he was hardly perfect. Therefore, I take "righteous" to mean that Noah was justified in the eyes of the Lord.
Chew on these truths. If you know Christ it is because God chose you. I don't know why other than it was for you to serve Him for His glory. That was true of Jeremiah and Noah. It's true for anyone who knows Jesus.
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2 comments:
This makes me really ponder passages on calling like Romans 8:29-30. It is a reminder that it's only what he has done to draw us to himself and provide our righteousness. It is by grace and grace alone and we should only boast in what the Lord has done. And be grateful.
Amen to that. I also think of Ephesians 2:10. Ephesians 2:1-9 explains how we were dead in our sins and how God saved us. But then Ephesians 2:10 explains that we were called to good works, not just for our own personal escape from hell.
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