God Has a Mission for YOU!

God had a mission for Jeremiah. Would it be fun? No! Would he become famous? Yes, but not for the reasons most people want to become famous. God commanded Jeremiah to go to his brothers and sisters in his home country in Israel and demand they repent and return to God.

Jeremiah knew it would make a lot of people angry. He figured that he might be executed for treason. Therefore, he made many excuses to God for why he wasn’t the right man for the job. “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

“Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 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. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 1:6-9 NIV

Even though Jeremiah was making excuses why he couldn’t serve the Lord, God didn’t give up on Him. He encouraged him by saying, “I am with you and will rescue you.”

It’s natural for the Christian today to do the same thing. We come up with clever excuses why we shouldn’t follow the mission the Lord has given us “to go unto the ends of the earth and spread the gospel.” We say to ourselves and God, “I don’t know enough about the Bible. What will they think of me? I don’t want them talking behind my back. I might lose my job! Let somebody else do it."

Fear is a great motivator and a greater inhibitor. God immediately saw the fear in Jeremiah’s heart and said, “Do not be afraid of them.” The Bible teaches that “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the fear of man is a stumbling block.” (See Proverbs 9:10 and Proverbs 29:25.) Allow faith to overcome your fears and be obedient to God. He will not let you down if you are obedient to His calling. He has your back!

Has the “Lord reached out His hand and touched your mouth?” Has he “put His words in your mouth?” Without Him doing this, you are powerless to accomplish the mission set before you. It would be like a general assigning a private in the Army on a special ops mission for the elite Navy Seals. How can we realistically have Him put His words in our mouth? Read your Bible! Study your Bible! Hide His Word in your heart! Take time to have Him talk to you through Bible study and prayer. As His Spirit richly indwells your heart, His Words will reach your mouth and fear will fade.

God never calls us to do something for Him that He doesn’t empower us to do if we are willing to do the work and time. Please, take the time to get to know God in an intimate way. As your relationship with Him grows, you move up in rank and are assigned harder missions. Your purpose on earth is to shine God’s love to a lost, dying world. Your mission, if you should choose to accept it, is waiting for you! Open your ears and your heart to the Lord and be excited about your new future serving Him in truth and spirit.

Copyright © Jon Cash. Used by permission.