I Send You

The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “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.” “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ 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. (Jeremiah 1:1-8, NIV 1984).

My Musings – Isaiah warned Judah of things to come. Jeremiah was there to see them unfold. Even as God was speaking through Isaiah, He knew Jeremiah. He set him apart. He appointed him.

We may not ever have a role quite like Jeremiah’s. In fact, it is quite unlikely. But if we are (or become) a child of God, before we were born, we too were known, set apart and appointed. We may be a small piece of the “puzzle,” but no puzzle is complete until that last piece, no matter how small or how few the detail it contains, is set in place.

Even if our part is small, and seemingly inconsequential, we may still feel that we are “only a child” who “[does] not know how to speak” into the role we are called to play. But “[He is] with [us] and will rescue [us],” at least until we have gone where He sent us and said what we were to say to whomever He sent us to.

My Advice – George: “You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?” Uncle Billy: “Uh, huh. Breakfast is served, lunch is served, dinner is…” George: “No, no, no, no! Anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles.” (from “It’s a Wonderful Life”). Both were wrong. And it’s not three sounds, it’s two exciting words – “But God.” It appears many time in the Scriptures. Here’s one.

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:27–30, NIV 1984).

We may be “foolish, weak, lowly, despised” pieces that “are not” good fits in the world’s puzzle, but God chose us to fit into His “puzzle.” Big or little, thank God He did.