JEREMIAH’S CALL
Do not be afraid of their faces, for l am with you to deliver you, ‘says the Lord “ (Jeremiah 1:8).
Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet due to the sadness of his message, received a call from God when he was still very young, during the time when Judah was being threatened by the Assyrians and the Egyptians. He presents God as being very patient, holy, and slow to judge. He calls the people to repent before it is too late. He witnesses the moral decadence of a people immersed in apostasy.
Jeremiah was young, timid, pessimistic, and unmarried, and was preparing to become a priest, like his father; then, he was given the responsibility to appeal to the spirituality of Israel in their darkest days. He hadn’t spoken in public, and he wasn’t a leader. During his ministry God had to affirm to him many times: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you: before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.» (Jeremiah 1:5); ‘I have put My words in your mouth” (verse 9): “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms” (verse 10). Because when God calls someone, He also provides the resources necessary for their success. *
The call precedes the preparation, and to feel yourself inadequate is a prerequisite. If you have followed God’s will and you experience falls, indifference, and reproach, Jeremiah is your example. For forty years he spoke faithfully to a nation that never listened to him: he called for action, and no one moved. He suffered poverty and deprivation, he was thrown into prison, buried in a well, taken to Egypt against his will, and rejected by all. He remained alone, unnoticed, and a “failure,‘ but in God’s eyes, he was the most successful man of his time, because God measures triumph by one’s obedience and faithfulness.**
Be faithful to your mission, like the sun, which makes its most spectacular demonstration while most people are asleep. ‘The Christian who faithfully presents the word of life, leading men and women into the way of holiness and peace, is bringing to the foundation material that will endure, and in the kingdom of God he will be honored as a wise builder. If they will make God their strength, He will work with them, and they shall not labor in vain. All heaven is waiting for men and women through whom God can reveal the power of Christianity.”—The Acts of the Apostles, ch 58, pp. 599.
There is lots of room on the winners’ list for this type of success.
- The Women of Faith Study Bible, New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. 1984). p. 125. ** Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation, 2nd* edition (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2004), p. 1197.
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Taken from: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2023
“DAUGHTER OF MINE” Do Not Be Afraid
From: Arsenia Fernandez-Uckele
Collaborators: Angelica Cuate & Esteban Cortes