Last night, I was trying to decide what I wanted to read. As I was randomly flipping through my Bible (we’ve all been there, right?), I came across Jeremiah. I’ve been wanting to dig more into the Old Testament, so I decided to start with Jeremiah chapter 1. God’s got some good messages in this chapter, folks! It starts off by letting us know the time Jeremiah was living in and who the kings were during his ministry. According to my NLT 2015 Reference Bible by Tyndale House Publishers, Jeremiah’s ministry began 627 years before Christ and lasted about 41 years during the reigns of King Josiah and his sons, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. So there’s a little context for us! I don’t know, the researcher within me found that kind of interesting – hopefully you did, too!

God starts off by telling Jeremiah:

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 prophet to the nations.

Jeremiah 1:5, NLT

This verse reminds me of Psalm 139:13-16, which talks about how God has made us so wonderfully and intricately. He had our whole lives planned out before we even existed – “every moment” and “every day” (Psalm 139:16, NLT). This says a lot about how we really, truly can trust God and the plan He has for us! We can live in confidence knowing that we matter and we have a purpose. We may not know what our purpose is quite yet – but God knows.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers – the moon and the stars you set in place – what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?

Psalm 8:3-4, NLT

Whew, that’s what I start thinking when I fully try to realize how wonderful and mighty and all-powerful our God is! The God of the universe, who created everything, decided to make each one of us so intricately and plan our lives out down to the very moment – you have so much value to God! You are so precious to Him!

But anyway… I’m going on a rabbit trail. So God tells Jeremiah that He’s chosen him to be a prophet, and Jeremiah is just like… “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” (Jeremiah 1:6b, NLT). And then God goes on to essentially tell Jeremiah that He can use whoever He wants, whenever He wants, wherever He wants. It doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, male or female, light-skinned or dark-skinned – God can use you to spread His message! You just need to learn to trust Him. He also says to Jeremiah, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!” (Jeremiah 1:9b, NLT). Don’t be afraid of what you’re going to say or who you’re going to say it to – God will guide you in the calling He has for you. And also…don’t manipulate the message that God is trying to share through you because you’re afraid of how people will respond to the truth.

And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.

Luke 12:11-12, NLT

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way.

1 Peter 3:15-16a, NLT

As believers and messengers of the Gospel ourselves, we have got to be constantly in the Word and spending time with the Lord through prayer in order to serve Him as Lord of our lives and have a solid foundation to our faith. If we’re not doing this, how can we trust in Him? How can the Holy Spirit work through us to spread the Word of God if we don’t even know what the Word of God says? Don’t be afraid if you are a new believer and you haven’t read much of the Bible quite yet. Trust me, I’ve been a Christian practically my whole life and I’m still learning! I still have to look up where a certain verse of Scripture is, or whether the Bible says something about a certain issue I’m wrestling with. However, as the Lord is saying in these passages, He will teach us what we need to know when we need to know it. We just need to keep turning to Him and studying the Bible He has given us! And when the time comes for us to speak to others about our faith, we can trust that He will bring His words to our mind and give us the confidence to say them.

Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety… Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.

Proverbs 29:25 and Proverbs 30:5, NLT

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!

Jeremiah 1:19, NLT