Being so sure of God's will that nothing else matters.
18 For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.
19 They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
How sure are you that God told you to do something?
There was little room for doubt when God called Jeremiah, he heard directly from God, most of us will never have a call from God that is so crystal clear. This was a conversation between God and Jeremiah.It was a call that Jeremiah didn't really want to receive, just like so many other people in the Bible, he tried to get excused from the assignment by telling God that he wasn't qualified but like God always does, he let him know that his qualifications didn't matter. (Jeremiah 1:6-10)
We always look at our qualifications before we do something, it is a good idea in most situations but when God is telling you to "go and do this," looking at our qualifications is the last thing we should do. Inexperience, shyness, too young, poor health, none of that matters, God is looking for availability, Christ-likeness and faithfulness.
Are you sure enough to keep on doing it when the going gets tough?
When God tells us to do something we may assume that he is going to give us a nice straight path without any obstacles. It is the American way of life, we think that if we are doing the right thing that we will meet little to no resistance, but God didn't ever provide a smooth ride to anybody that he ever used in the Bible.| Jeremiah 26:10-14 When the officials of Judah heard what was
happening, they rushed over from the palace and sat down at the New Gate
of the Temple to hold court. 11 The priests and
prophets presented their accusations to the officials and the people.
“This man should die!” they said. “You have heard with your own ears
what a traitor he is, for he has prophesied against this city.” 12 Then Jeremiah spoke to the officials and the people in his own defense. “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this Temple and this city,” he said. “The Lord gave me every word that I have spoken. 13 But if you stop your sinning and begin to obey the Lord your God, he will change his mind about this disaster that he has announced against you. 14 As for me, I am in your hands—do with me as you think best. |
Jeremiah told the crowds that he was sent by God and this is the job that God told me to do, it wasn't looking good for Jeremiah but he still had the strength to tell the crowd "do with me as you think best."
We need to stand firm when the opposition comes, the devil isn't going to be happy when you start doing the things that God asks you to do and he will use anybody and anything to beat you down and get you discouraged, we need to keep up the enthusiasm and keep moving forward. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
