God will not allow our self-centered, inaccurate statements to go unchallenged. He will always resist falsehood with truth. Without realizing what he was doing, Jeremiah was dismissing God’s truth with false assumptions. His creator had just declared what His eternal purposes were for Jeremiah. In response, the youth had declared that the One who created him was mistaken.
We are often too quick to make conclusions about what God can do with us. While God intends for us to be honest with Him, be careful you do not inadvertently downsize God’s plans for your life. When God declares His will for your life, don’t argue with Him! Don’t challenge His facts! He knows what He is doing.
Reading of this encounter, thousands of years later, we are amused at the audacity of this irreverent youth. But then we are reminded that we, too, have often challenged God’s intentions for our life. We may also have been quick to explain why we could not take the lead, or speak in public, or make a difference.
When we are God-centered, we will believe that anything is possible. When we become self-centered, we may struggle to believe God can do anything through us.