READING: Jeremiah 1-3, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:18
Today, I’m humbled by the Word of God. I always am when I read the call of Jeremiah, no matter how many times I read it.
I’m humbled for two reasons. First, I read that the “the word of the Lord came” to Jeremiah (Jer 1:4). That is, it was God who spoke to the prophet. This God is quite unlike the idols that the nations worshiped—false gods with mouths but who could not speak. Rather, Jeremiah’s God is a personal being who steps into the lives of His creatures. Today’s reading, in fact, includes several personal pronouns to show how much God had done in Jeremiah’s life: “I chose you. . . I formed you . . . I set you apart . . . I appointed you” (Jer 1:4-5).
Second, I’m always amazed when I read that God did all this before He ever created Jeremiah: “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born” (Jer 1:5). As one writer put it, “God had formulated each step of the process himself from conception to consecration.”* That meant that God called Jeremiah already knowing all the sin that he would commit, all the times he would question, all the battles he would lose, all the struggles that would mark his life. All of that foreknowledge, though, didn’t stop God from calling Jeremiah; it instead gave Him opportunity to glorify Himself by using an unworthy man to be His prophet. God alone would get the glory for anything Jeremiah would do.
I cannot adequately put into words my gratitude that God calls people before He ever makes them. That’s grace beyond compare!
PRAYER: “God, thank You for Your calling. You alone make it all happen.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Review and catch-up day