As I was napping today, I kept turning and looking into my open closet. I kept hearing the call to read Jeremiah 1. You know the word intentional, well that must be synonymous with God. Earlier today after writing a journal entry much like this one, I asked the Holy Spirit, “How would I know what to post?”. Jeremiah 1 was the answer.

Jeremiah 1 (NIV)

1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 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 Call of Jeremiah

4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

5 “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.”

6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.

8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“I see the branch of an almond tree”, I replied.

12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see my word is fulfilled.”

13 The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”

“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

14 The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

“Their kings will come and set their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah.

16 I will pronounce my judgement on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshipping what their hands have made.

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

How this applies to me

When I read this I thought, “Surely God does not mean I’m a prophet.” But honestly if He did, then what.

5 “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.”

This verse shows me that God knew who He called me to be before I was ever even thought of by my parents. A writer. Which honestly is crazy because as a child I wanted to be a writer but as I got older I forgot about this dream. I now know this was intentional by God. If I had known about it or leaned into it almost 3 years ago I would have perverted it. See at that time I was so deep in sin, this blog would have done more harm than good. Now though, now I’m ready (even though I don’t feel ready).

6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

Apparently Jeremiah also didn’t feel ready. I must remind myself that God doesn’t requires perfection from us to be obedient, He requires our obedience. Even though I’m not biblically literate or can speak any verse from the Bible, God still has a calling on my life. No number of excuses I can come up with the deter or dissuade Him for the plan He already has in motion.

7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.

8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Right here God is saying to Jeremiah and to me, “Whatever excuses you are about to bring me leave them where they at!”. Not only is He calling me, but He is saying I will protect you as you do my will. Which is comforting; the same God who saved the 3 Hebrew boys out of the fire and Daniel out of the lion’s den protects me.

16 I will pronounce my judgement on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshipping what their hands have made.

The world, society and culture that I live in is filled with wickedness and at one point I contributed to that wickedness. Promoting hookup culture, sex work, pornography, foul language, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, jealously, gluttony, greed, lying, false gods and false religions. I mean the list could go on and on.

We have become too passive and accepting of things that are leading our loved ones, strangers, believers, unbelievers and ourselves straight to hell. We are more concerned with how we make someone feel than the truth of the word of God. When you go to the doctor and they evaluate you sometimes they have bad news. Doctors don’t just withhold the truth because it bad news, something you might not want to hear or would hurt your feelings. They tell you anyway because not doing so would be negligent.

This same concept does and should apply to people claiming to be believers and followers of Jesus Christ. It is negligent to withhold, curve or pacify the truth because we are afraid of how we might come off to people or to hurt their feelings. Hurt feelings now could save someone from an eternity of the fiery burning lake.

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

I need to prepare myself. Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. God has called and I must answer. There is no reason to be afraid because He is with me. He has made me a fortified city of iron and bronze. If God is for me then who can stand against me. The Lord is faithful and honest, whatever He says comes to past.

I will be rejected, turned away, spoken poorly about and some may even wish me physical harm. This narrow road was never said or meant to be easy but once you make it to the end, its far more rewarding than the eyes can see and ears can hear. Through everything that will happen and is to come God will be with me and I will not fail.