Author: admin

Desperate times call for dramatic actions. Jeremiah would never be allowed the luxury of living a typical teenager’s life. That was because he did not live in ordinary times.

Had Jeremiah lived in a different time, he might have had the pleasure of pronouncing God’s blessing upon the people. But this was not one of those times. The nation had drifted far from God. It was in no condition to receive words of commendation. Rather, dark storm clouds of judgment were brewing. God’s words were harsh and difficult to deliver. Jeremiah knew that the most powerful people in the land would hate what he had to say. He must have known that the ministry to which God had called him would make him the most unpopular person in the land. His divine calling would invite scorn. It was a difficult calling indeed.

That is why God told His youthful spokesperson to prepare himself. God exhorted Jeremiah not to be dismayed. God knew that discouragement would be plentiful. Yet that was the task to which God was calling His new prophet.

Don’t be deceived into assuming that God would never ask you to do something that is difficult or painful. We need look no further than Jeremiah to see that God may call us to extremely challenging assignments. God’s call may push us to the limit of our endurance. That is why we also ought to prepare ourselves. And, it is why we must determine that we will not allow people to intimidate or discourage us. Our calling hinges on God, not people’s response.

Few things in the ancient world were any more terrifying than enemy armies encamped at the gates and walls of your city. To set a throne at someone’s gate meant you were not merely passing through. Rather, you had come to stay. You intended a total occupation. There would be no reprieve. When Judah’s enemies came against them, the destruction they wrought would be thorough.

What was perhaps most terrifying was not merely that Judah’s dreaded enemies had come against them, but that God was the One who had summoned them. Typically the people of Judah would cry out to God for deliverance when their enemies invaded the land. But who could they call out to if their own God was the One who had brought their calamity upon them? When your God is allied with your enemy, what hope do you have?

The people of Judah had taken God for granted. They assumed He was available at their beck and call. They thought they could ignore God until they had a need of Him. They believed that no matter how irreverently they behaved, God would always forgive them and come to their aid. They were about to learn the devastating truth that you cannot take God for granted. If you do, a time will come when calamity strikes, and God is found with your enemy, rather than with you.

When God speaks to us a second time, it certainly behooves us to pay attention! God spoke to Jeremiah not only once, but a second time. Clearly God was extremely serious about what He was declaring.

At times we fail to heed God’s first word, so we are in no position to respond to a second one! Not so with Jeremiah. He accepted God’s first message and so a second one soon followed. You have no need of a second divine message if you have failed to receive the first one!

What God said was devastating. Judgment was coming. And it was going to be severe. Every inhabitant of Judah would experience the impact of God’s word. No one was exempt. God’s retribution would as widespread as it was thorough.

In this case God was going to use Judah’s enemy to punish her. Many generations earlier, God had promised that when His people obeyed Him, He would grant them victory over their enemies. But when God’s people rejected Him, then their enemies would defeat them. Now God’s people were about to experience how reliable God’s word was!

Today there are many enemies that surround our nation. We ought to be alert that God may choose to use one of them to bring His judgment upon us.

God is infinitely patient and gracious. But a time will come when He will no longer delay His judgment on sin. The wonder is not that God punishes wickedness, but that He allows evil to go unchastised for so long. Yet be certain of this: a day will come when God says “Enough!”

God asked Jeremiah to look upon an almond tree. That plant was always the first sign of spring. When you saw an almond tree in bloom, you knew winter was over and a new season had come. Seeing the almond tree in bloom alerted the prophet that God was now going to act upon His word. God’s patience had run its course. The period of grace was at an end. Judgment was now commencing.

There may be times when we wonder why God does not act more vigorously against evil. We may question why the wicked continue to prosper even as they exploit the innocent. But a time is approaching when God’s patience is finished and He chooses to act. There are already signs in our day that the day of God’s judgment is drawing near. Can you see them?

God’s servants ought to be the most humble people on earth. Yet they are also the most powerful. For when God appoints them to be His spokespeople, they can speak a word that brings down even the mightiest kingdom. Kings ought to tremble when a servant of God speaks, for one word from them can topple a monarchy and cause the defeat of the mightiest army.

Never minimize your role as a servant of the Most High. For you carry with you great authority. You speak on behalf of the Lord of the universe. Every resource of heaven stands ready to support your statements.

When you speak words of judgment, mighty kingdoms will come tumbling down. When you utter words of blessing, the parched earth can be transformed into an oasis. It is not because of you; but because of your God.

Jeremiah was but a teenager, yet as God’s representative, the young man held an enormous office.

Do you tend to put yourself down or to minimize your role? If you do, you must stop. For never disparage your role as a servant of God. With your role comes vast powers and authority. When you speak the will of heaven, no king or army or spiritual force can prevent your words from coming to pass.

What is it that almighty God has given you to say?

If it were not for the Lord’s hand, we would be hopelessly unable to fulfill His assignments. God grants us God-sized assignments. They might at first glance appear to be possible, but the God-sized dimensions and possibilities always take us to a place where we cannot possibly succeed apart from His intervention.

Thankfully we can always count on His hand. In Jeremiah’s case, he was asked to deliver a difficult message to a hostile audience. Complicating matters, the youth did not feel competent as a speaker. This was truly a recipe for disaster! But then God’s hand came upon him. God’s hand changes everything!

Before God’s hand touched him, Jeremiah was certainly unqualified for the divine task. After God’s hand came upon him, there was nothing he could not do! It would have been foolish for Jeremiah to attempt a divine work apart from Gods hand. After God touched him, it would have been foolish to continue to fear or to hesitate.

Is God’s hand upon you? What is the evidence?

One of the most common refrains in Scripture is this: don’t be afraid! We can truly be fearful creatures.

The reason we fear is because we are concerned with our safety and comfort. For those who care not whether they live or die, fear is not an issue. But to those who dread losing what they have, the world is filled with dread.

While God is continually urging His people not to fear, He always bases this confidence in something substantial: Himself. If God were not present and active in Jeremiah’s life, he would have much to fear indeed. For his nation was surrounded by enemies. But when God stood with him, Jeremiah had absolutely nothing to fear. God’s presence made all the difference.

One of the clearest ways to discern whether we are abiding in God’s presence can be seen in this one reality: are we afraid? If we are, we have not fully comprehended the amazing truth that God is with us.

How many times must God assure us that we need not be afraid? When will we trust Him and lean on Him?

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.

There is a noticeable difference between our conversations, and God’s. God speaks in terms of impacting nations and eternity. We tend to speak of weaknesses and limitations. God speaks about redeeming a lost and broken humanity. We talk about saving ourselves from that which troubles us.

God spoke to Jeremiah about how He had known him from before he was born. God explained how He had a heavenly purpose for Jeremiah. But Jeremiah’s conversation immediately focused on his inability and weakness.

While God spoke in exalted terms, Jeremiah quickly tried to change the focus to himself and his inability.

We tend to be like Jeremiah. God has a divine purpose for us as well. However, we tend to focus on ourselves rather than on God. Rather than God’s ability determining what we do, we allow our own, limited resources and skills to set the agenda for our life.

Had Jeremiah merely accepted what God said, the entire conversation would have been sublime. But when Jeremiah added his words to God’s, the conversation noticeably declined. What are your conversations with God like?

Young Jeremiah may have had typical youthful plans for his life. Perhaps he intended to be a great warrior in the king’s army. Maybe he thought he would live a tranquil, obscure life. Perhaps he intended to follow his father into a quiet, priestly service at the temple.

Then Jeremiah received a word from God. That one divine conversation changed everything! That is how God’s word functions. He need only speak for a moment, but his words will leave an eternal mark upon us. Half a century later, the aged prophet would look back in this youthful encounter with God and understand the profound impact that conversation exerted upon him.

Jeremiah experienced the truth that before God assigns you; He calls you. And one word from God changes everything!

Are you afraid to enter into such a conversation with your Creator? Are you anxious about what He might say?