Thoughts for the Day

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’

Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,

‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.’

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,

‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today is another Ember Day, when we pray for those who are called by God, and our reading is from the book of Jeremiah. We see that some years after the death of Isaiah God calls Jeremiah to one of the hardest tasks ever assigned to someone. He is basically to oversee the death of the nation, as the people continually refuse to listen to his prophecies and are finally taken captive to Babylon. He was probably around twenty years old when God first called him to work for Him, and his ministry was to last for 40 years. Can you imagine yourself at that age with God saying "You are to go to the Prime Minister (or Queen or King) and tell them "Thus says the Lord!"? Like Jeremiah, Moses, and Saul before him he objects that he is too young for such a huge task.

But God is firm, he is to be His prophet, and God will look after him. That doesn't mean life will be easy for Jeremiah, indeed he will suffer much for throughout his life, for the people do not like his message that demands they change their ways and stop worshipping false gods, and they ignore him.

It's a wise man or woman who answers "Yes!" to God's call, no matter how unable they feel to carry out God's message. All of us need to listen for the call, no matter how weak we feel, and to answer "Yes!" with confidence.

Heavenly Father,
open our hearts and minds
to hear your call,
and not to ignore it.
Give us the confidence
to say "Yes",
knowing that You will be there
to help us when we need it.
Amen.