It’s too hard, you’ve got the wrong person for the job!
God tells Jeremiah that he has been appointed to Himself for the purpose of speaking truth to the people. Jeremiah does hear God and has been given some really encouraging words. Specifically, that God has known him all along and that He has a plan for his life. This is all cool, but then he gets more details. How does Jeremiah respond?
Jer 1:6 Then I said, "Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth."
Interesting, when I looked at the word ‘Alas’ in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, I found that it was a word used to express pain. Similar to something we might say like “Oh no”. Even with the encouragement that God had shared with Jeremiah, Jeremiah was reluctant to jump in with both feet! Have you been there? You know that something is good, it is right, it is what God would have you do, but…! Perhaps, the unfolding plan was not what you had expected or it seems very possible that what you should do may cause either yourself or others to be uncomfortable. Or perhaps, you’d rather stay on the quiet, unnoticed side of things and let someone else be the outspoken one. In Jeremiah’s case, he claimed his youth as an excuse to bowing out of God’s plan.
Let’s look at the words Jeremiah used to address God.
Lord <Adonay> as in my Lord.
God <Y@hovih> self-existent or eternal
This again speaks of the personal relationship Jeremiah had with God as he calls Him my God. The acknowledgement of God’s eternal existence agrees with the information Jeremiah had received that God knew him even before he was born. So Jeremiah answers God saying, “Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth”. It’s like he’s saying, ‘c’mon God, you know me, you understand me, I’m still young and I can’t say things well, I don’t have what it takes’.
It takes little imagination to think of what his unspoken thoughts might have been. ‘Give the job to someone else’, ‘Look, I’d like to help but this is not my comfort zone’, or ‘Really, are you sure I’m the one you want, there are others that would be a better choice’. We see this same kind of reaction to God’s plan elsewhere in the Bible. I immediately think of Moses. He voices insecurity in God’s plan as he questions Him with a list of ‘what ifs’.
Ex 4:1 Then Moses answered and said, "What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say? For they may say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'"
After the ‘what ifs’, Moses tried another tactic.
Ex 4:10 Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." Moses couldn’t proclaim youth as his excuse, instead, he reminded God that he wasn’t an eloquent speaker – like God needed a reminder!! Later on in the same book, Moses reminded God again that people wouldn’t listen to him…
Ex 6:12 But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?"
How did God respond to Jeremiah’s concerns?
Jer 1:7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak.
Well first, He threw the youth problem out the door! As Jeremiah was hoping to shrink away from the directions God was giving him, his protest of youth was negated. With God there are no limitations in performing the work He has set out for us! We may think we are too old, too young, or too shy. Perhaps we let lack of education or experience cause us to shrink away from stepping into a direction God is leading. Maybe we feel past mistakes disqualify us from being used by Him. No matter what obstacles we may perceive, there are no barriers that will keep God from being able to use us according to His plan. The question is, “Are you willing”? Don’t cling to your excuses, concentrate on His truths:
Ex 15:2a "The LORD is my strength and song,”
2Sa 22:33a "God is my strong fortress;”
Ps 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
2Co 12:9a And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."
Heb 11:33-34 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Jg 16:3 Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.
2Sa 22:40 "For Thou hast girded me with strength for battle; Thou hast subdued under me those who rose up against me.
Isa 40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
Isa 41:10 'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
Da 11:32b "but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Lu 18:27 But He said, "The things impossible with men are possible with God."
Lu 1:37 "For nothing will be impossible with God."
That’s quite a list of encouraging scriptures, and it’s only partial. There are so many more that we can cling to as we trust that God will give us everything needed for the task He puts in front of us!
I love that the NAS translation of Jeremiah 1:7 uses the words ‘everywhere’ and ‘all’. It’s not like God will get us started and then leave us on our own to finish! He’s not saying, “I’ll show you once, then you’ll do fine”. He’s with us. From the beginning to the end. Everywhere He sends us we are accompanied by His Spirit to strengthen, to encourage, to pick up when we fall, to even put words in our mouth when we don’t have any!
“Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak.”
We have no excuse. In God we are able. Are you timid? God will cause you to be brave! Do we have insufficiencies? Sure! It would take me a very long time to list my weaknesses. Should this stop us from going forth to follow God’s will and direction? Absolutely not.
Matthew Poole’s Commentary suggests this wording from the Hebrew: “Thou shalt go upon all errands and messages that I shall send thee”.
Ac 26:16 'But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you;
Jer 1:17-18 "Now, gird up your loins, and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them. "Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city, and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land.
Get up my friend! Be brave in the Lord! He’s picked you as His child. Nothing is too difficult for God. He has called exactly whom He wants to do the job He requires!
