Today’s Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 21:1-9; 2 Chronicles 33:1-9; 2 Kings 21:10-17; 2 Chronicles 33:10-19; 2 Kings 21:18; 2 Chronicles 33:20; 2 Kings 21:19-26; 2 Chronicles 33:21-25; 2 Kings 22:1-2; 2 Chronicles 34:1-7; Jeremiah 1:1 through Jeremiah 2:22
Fill in the blanks:
O Sovereign Lord, I can’t ___________ for you! I’m too _____________!
The Lord replied. Don’t say, I’m too _____________, for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I the Lord have spoken. I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my _______________. —Jeremiah 1:4-9
If you had an encounter with God like Jeremiah and he spoke these words to you, would it change your life?
As a young adult I heard a message from Pastor Steven Chitty that changed me forever. The only thing I remember about that message is this one illustration: He said that when we get to heaven and we meet God face to face, a huge screen will come out of the sky and a video will begin to play. As we watch it we will see everything God planned for us, everything he knew we were capable of, everything he gave us the talents and abilities to be and do for his Kingdom (Jeremiah 1:5). The greatest sadness of our lives will be when we see the things God planned for us that we didn’t even try to do because of fear and because of saying. “I can’t.”
No, this illustration is not in the Bible but we will stand before Christ in heaven and he will evaluate our life on earth as a Christian (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
Knowing that we’re on this earth for a pre-determined purpose should cause us to wake up every day looking for God’s best for the day like a treasure hunt. If we can overcome the “I can’ts,” life will be a great adventure!
You may be thinking, “I have “no idea” how I fit in God’s master plan.
God will show you if you spend time with him. Here are three questions to get you started:
- What am I good at?
- What do I like to do?
- What needs to be done?
You may be thinking, “What if I think God’s speaking to me and I step out and try and he really didn’t speak, it was just my imagination?” This is one of the greatest lies Satan uses to keep us from living out Jeremiah 1:5.
But we have an antidote to combat that lie in Romans 4:3:
For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him
as righteous because of his faith.
Friends, don’t miss this: If you step out by faith to serve God in a particular way because you believe He has spoken to you, He will count you righteous because of your faith in believing you heard from God.
Sometimes we have to “do it afraid.” I can personally say that almost every day these last three years that I have sat down to write for this study, I feel the fear of not having anything to say. Every time I have to push through the fear; I just place my hands on the keyboard and start. The fear goes away and God does what he did for Jeremiah and what he will do for you:
Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!” –Jeremiah 1:9
Heavenly Father, give us the faith and determination to be what you planned for us to be.
In Jesus Name. Amen and Amen!
© 2012 Dianne Guthmuller
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:23 through Jeremiah 5:19
