This week, my devotions led me to Jeremiah 1:4-9 – The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.”
If you were to tell me in high school that I would some day be a pastor and plant a church, I would have probably laughed. Even after 15 years as a youth pastor, I laughed at someone when they asked me, “When are you going to be a senior pastor?”
The funny thing is that I wasn’t really opposed to being a pastor: it’s just that I didn’t think I had what it takes to be one. Like Jeremiah, I had all sorts of excuses. I’m to young, I’m uneducated, I’m not mature enough, etc…
But the fact is that God knew before I was ever born that I would be a pastor. He knew the plans he had for me and they were far beyond my capabilities. God wants to use all of us beyond our own abilities. I love the way Pastor Mark Batterson says it, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”
The God who knew us before we were ever formed in our mother’s womb desires to send us out to make Him known—to our neighbors and to the nations. What excuses are keeping us from making the difference that God wants to make in and through our lives?
I understand that not all of us are called to be prophets like Jeremiah or even pastors like myself. But the truth is: We are all called to let His light shine through us and to make an impact in our world. And we can’t underestimate what God is capable of doing through a willing vessel.
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