There were a few things that jumped out at me today.
The first was, of course, one of the most well-known verses in the Bible....
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5a
One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible (and one of my personal favourites) that speaks to the astonishingly intimate way that God knows us. He knows us from our very beginning, when we were created in secret, before even our parents knew of our existence, God knew. Not only did He know, but He formed us. Specially. Specifically. Perfectly. In His image. It is incredible to me, how the same God that threw stars into space knows each one of us so intimately, and that He has a plan for each of us in order to glorify Him. Amazing.
And shortly after - as Jeremiah is questioning God's call, we read this...
But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:7-8
Too young. Too old. Too inexperienced. Too poor. Too rich. Too uneducated.
All excuses.
God will use us despite our inadequacies or weaknesses. In fact, through those inadequacies and weakness, He will be glorified. He will always be with us. He will rescue us.
Now, that doesn't mean things will be easy. In fact, rescue implies that we're in trouble of some sort, or we wouldn't need rescuing. No, He doesn't promise it will be easy. But He promises to be with us and to walk with us through those storms and trials and rescue us.
Further on....
"Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the Lord. "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
This really struck me. Even pagan worshipers were loyal to their gods - despite being totally wrong, despite the fact that their gods were totally worthless and powerless and never actually did a thing to help them.
And we have access to the spring of living water. Perfect water. And we have thrown it away. In exchange for a cistern - a pit that collects rainwater. And not only a cistern, but a broken and empty cistern.
Who in their right mind would do that?!
And yet we do.
We do so whenever we cling to false gods like money, power, legalistic rules, sex, anything that we think will fulfill us, that we put in the place that only God can fill. We exchange the real deal for a counterfeit that can be spotted a mile away.
Oh God, help us to see Satan's lies for what they are. Help us to crave You and You alone, and not to be satisfied with any counterfeit that might try to sway us. Help us to desire the Spring of Living Water who alone can satisfy our souls and may that desire increase more and more every day. Amen.
Tomorrow's passage: Jeremiah 3-5, Acts 27:1-26
2 comments:
Swa this quote a while back that fits well into the first part of the post about excuses:
Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old, and Lazarus was dead... WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE??? Can God use you or not?!? GOD DOESN'T CALL THE QUALIFIED, HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED!!!!
Ack!! I "SAW this quote..." Fumbly morning fingers!(Actually, it's probably more the morning BRAIN'S problem, haha!)
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