6Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” [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]
God had just revealed to Jeremiah that He had created him for a specific purpose. He had sanctified and ordained him to be a prophet to the nation of Israel. What wonderful news! How awesome to know that God had a special purpose when He created him. He was not an accident. He was created to accomplish a work for the Lord.
However, Jeremiah wasn’t blessed by this news—he was intimidated. He wanted out of God’s plan for his life. He thought the call was too great for him, but the truth is, if what you feel called to do isn’t greater than what you think you can do, then it’s probably not God. God is a big God and He calls us to big things. We think small. God thinks big. Thank God, He is the one who empowers us and enables us to do what He calls us to do.
Jeremiah protested that he was only a child and couldn’t speak. In truth, he was a grown man at this time. He was referring to his belief that he was inadequate for the task. Moses tried this same line on God [simple_tooltip content=’Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”’](Ex. 4:10)[/simple_tooltip]. We’ve all tried it. But the Lord commanded Jeremiah never again to say he was incompetent.
None of us are capable of accomplishing God’s will on our own, but none of us are on our own when we are submitted to God’s will. He gives us special anointings and gifts to accomplish His will. All we have to do is yield to Him, and He will do the rest.
Do you know what God’s will is for your life? Are you lacking what it takes to get it done? You’re in good company. Don’t try to fulfill the task in your own strength, and never again refer to your weakness. Instead, just yield to Him and move forward.