5“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.” [simple_tooltip content=’4 Then 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 sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

7 But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

8 Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”’](Jeremiah 1:4-10)[/simple_tooltip]

 

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah that he was called, sanctified, and ordained before he was born. But this wasn’t unique to Jeremiah. John the Baptist [simple_tooltip content=’15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.’](Luke 1:15-16)[/simple_tooltip], Jesus [simple_tooltip content=’1 “Listen, O coastlands, to Me,
And take heed, you peoples from afar!
The Lord has called Me from the womb;
From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword;
In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me a polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.”

3 “And He said to me,
‘You are My servant, O Israel,
In whom I will be glorified.’

4 Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;
Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord,
And my work with my God.’ ”

5 “And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God shall be My strength),’](Is. 49:1-5)[/simple_tooltip], and Paul [simple_tooltip content=’But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,’](Gal. 1:15)[/simple_tooltip] were the same—and so are you!

[simple_tooltip content=’13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.’]Psalm 139:13-16[/simple_tooltip] reveals how God knew you in your mother’s womb. He knew exactly what you would look like before you were even born. Before you were formed, your life was written in His book. You didn’t just happen. You didn’t evolve from apes. You were created by a loving God, who has a specific purpose for you. He created you with special gifts to fulfill His purposes in this life. God has a plan for you.

Your greatest opportunity for happiness and success is in fulfilling God’s purposes for your life. You may be able to use His talents to accomplish other things, but you won’t experience His anointing and blessing on those other efforts as you would by devoting those abilities to Him and His work.

You may wonder, How do I know what God wants me to do? The answer comes in giving yourself completely to Him. When you make a total surrender to God, He begins working circumstances in a manner that leads you into His perfect plan. Your part is to surrender; His part is to reveal. If you do your part, He’ll do His. Then you will experience a new fulfillment and joy that only those in the center of His will can know.