Jeremiah's Story

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Jeremiah's Story, PT 1

Mustard Seed Thoughts

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you… Jeremiah 1:4-5a NIV

God wanted the prophet Jeremiah to know something. It was good news, probably very encouraging to Jeremiah, and it included a plan and purpose for Jeremiah’s life. The God who never changes has the same for you and me today. During this series, let’s look at what God had for Jeremiah…and for you and me.

One of the most frequent prayer requests I receive is from people trying to discern God’s will for their lives. Often people know God is calling them to something, but they are either uncertain of themselves or fearful of completely trusted God and walking by faith. Whatever the reason, fear keeps them from fully obeying the call of God on their life. Consequently they often miss out on the greatest blessings God has in store for them.

Let me make the intent of this series very clear. God has plans for you. In fact, God has plans solely and exclusively for you. God loves you so much and He is waiting for you to come to the end of yourself and completely follow His will for your life. I believe by looking at Jeremiah’s call from God it will give us insight into our own calling from God. I believe Jeremiah’s story is in the Bible so that you and I can discover God’s story for us.

Stay tuned!

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Jeremiah's Story, PT 2

Mustard Seed Thoughts

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” Jeremiah 1:5a NIV

My mother made Cheryl and me a quilt for Christmas. It was not an ordinary quilt. She took a dozen or so pictures of Cheryl and my life together; some of the boys when they were young, Cheryl and I as children ourselves, and pictures of the family today. Somehow she transferred these to material, sewed it all together and then had someone quilt the blanket. It was a great gift that we will cherish forever.

The really special part of the quilt, however, is not the quilt itself, but the work that went into the quilt. My mother gathered pictures for months to get just the right ones. She had to get with Cheryl’s mother to get pictures of Cheryl when she was younger. She even came and took pictures of our house (when we weren’t home) to put on the quilt. The special part is the fact that my mother invested herself into the quilt. There are hours of love into that quilt. I can only imagine the anticipation my mother experienced waiting for Christmas when we would open this gift.

When I think about the many years God waited for me to be born. My parents knew nine months in advance, but God knew thousands of years before I came into existence. How excited must He have been the day I arrived! God must have surely been joyful at the unveiling of His creation!

God feels the same way about you, by the way! He’s known you longer (and better) than anyone else. He waited so long for your arrival that He surely loves you more than you will ever comprehend.

Marvel today (with me) about the awesomeness of a God so great who would know and love us so well!

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Jeremiah's Story, PT 3

Mustard Seed Thoughts

…before you were born I set you apart… Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

Okay, here’s the deal, continuing our thought from yesterday, God knew you before anyone. In fact, He knew you before the beginning of time. No only did God know you, however, but God set you apart unique from all others.

My wife loves snowmen. She collects them. We have hundreds of snowmen. This past Christmas she didn’t even put out all the snowmen we have. We can go to a store to see Christmas decorations and the first thing Cheryl is going to look for are the snowmen. When she finds a snowman she likes, I’m ready to get it and go. (Typical male shopper, huh?) Cheryl, on the other hand, spends several more minutes examining the face of each snowman. She swears there is a difference in what I see as identical snowmen; all produced off a factory assembly line.

You may think a lot of people are alike. We may categorize people into groups of similarities. They may have the same skin color, the same hair color, or the same ethnic background. I can promise you this though. There are no two people exactly alike. Ever heard of “DNA”? The whole crime scene investigation has changed as a result of that discovery.

We are each uniquely and wonderfully made by God. And, my God makes no mistakes. Rejoice today that God took plenty of time crafting you just the way He wanted you to be!

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Jeremiah's Story, PT 4

Mustard Seed Thoughts

“I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

Jeremiah was to be a prophet to the nations. What’s your deal? What does God want you to do?

Not only did God know you before time began; not only does He love you beyond understanding; not only did He make you unique from everyone else, but God has a specific and special purpose just for you! Much of our life is to be spent discovering and implementing God’s plan for our life.

How do you discover God’s plan? That’s your question, right?

Well, first of all I think many times we know what God wants us to do, but we close our minds to it because it seems too big for us. The key here is to remember that God’s plan is always going to be too big for us; otherwise it wouldn’t be a God-thing, but a man-thing.

Second, we need to try out serving God. We don’t really discover what God has for us until we are actually doing something for God. We don’t discover how God has gifted us if we are sitting on the sidelines watching others serve God.

Third, we need to seek God through our relationship with Him. God is not hiding from us. He wants us to know His will for our life. If we ask Him and watch, God will reveal His unique plan for us

When God reveals His will we must be willing to walk by faith and obey Him regardless of the cost.

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Jeremiah's Story, PT 5

Mustard Seed Thoughts

"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." 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 1:6-8 NIV

This is what is going to happen. I know this, because it is what happens in my life and the hundreds of people I have an opportunity to minister to each year. As soon as you are very clear what God wants you to do, the excuse machine is going to rev its engine. You’ll have a hundred reasons why you can’t do what you already know God wants you to do.

How do you combat the dreaded fear battle? You recognize that they are lies from the Devil and battle them (as Jesus did) with truth.

You remember that God knew you before you were even born. You remember that He loves you more than you’ll ever know. You recall that He made you unique from any other. You remind yourself that God has a specific plan and purpose for your life. When any other thought creeps into your mind, you go back and repeat the process again.

You and I must continually live in truth. It’s the only way we will ever be all God wants us to be. The ones, who achieve great things for God, like the prophet Jeremiah, are the ones who refuse to look at their own shortcomings and look instead to the sufficiency of Christ.

How great are you? As great as God wants to display Himself through you!