Jeremiah

The Young Prophet

READ Jeremiah 1:1–10

Jeremiah was a prophet during a tumultuous time. His ministry spanned from some of Judah’s best days, with the religious reforms of King Josiah, to the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. Throughout all these years, Jeremiah faithfully obeyed God and delivered his messages to the people of Jerusalem, even when those messages resulted in him being hated and mistreated. Through Jeremiah, we see that speaking God’s message of righteousness and justice to those who don’t want to hear it will not win us any popularity awards.

The book of Jeremiah (which happens to be the longest book in the Bible by word count) begins with the story of Jeremiah’s calling. Jeremiah initially resisted God’s call, stating that he did not know how to speak well and was “too young” (1:6). When Jeremiah resisted God’s call upon his life, God directed Jeremiah’s focus away from his concerns to the truth of God’s presence. God assured Jeremiah, “Do not be afraid . . . I am with you and will rescue you” (v. 8). God gave Jeremiah words of comfort and assurance alongside his calling.

There is a story about a pastor who entered the vocation in his mid-twenties, and he felt intimidated at the weight of his calling. One particular visit to a parishioner made him most nervous. It was to an older dutchman, one who made no secret that he thought the “kid preacher” was a little too green.

The young pastor came to visit the elderly member, trusting God to guide the way, and God’s Spirit worked throughout the conversation to open the parishioner’s eyes to the ministry calling and gifts God had indeed given the young man. When the older man walked the pastor to the door, he shook his hand, looked him in the eye, and said in his Dutch accent, “Thank you for coming, Dominee”—a Dutch term for a pastor.

It’s a common reflex to excuse and resist God’s calling. When we feel God nudging us to a certain task or calling, our first impulse might be to run the other way. This knee-jerk reaction might be because of fear, or it might stem from a sense of our own unworthiness.

The apostle Paul wrote to the young Timothy, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

These words aren’t only for those of us who are young, but for all of us who feel inadequate. Perhaps we think we lack requisite abilities to be used by God because of our age, status, or experience. Nothing could be further from the truth. The one who made us also equipped us for serving his kingdom.

God’s words to Jeremiah should give us tremendous comfort: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:5). We need to shift our focus from ourselves to the God who made us. He knows better than we do what we are capable of and what he intends for us to do for his kingdom and glory. As Jeremiah himself later reminded God’s people, God knows the plans he has for us (29:11).

We don’t stand on our own where God calls us to go; God is with us. Like Jeremiah, we can strive to be faithful to our callings in good times and bad. What has God called you to do? Who has God made you to be? He will certainly equip you. Turn from what you don’t think you can do to the one who makes all things possible, who has called you according to his good purposes. The God who made us has certainly equipped us to walk in those plans. We have all we need.