Jeremiah 1

“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’ Then said I: ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.’ But the Lord said to me: ‘Do not say, “I am a youth,” for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.’” Jeremiah 1:4-10 (NKJV)

We all have excuses for why we cannot follow God’s calling.  

Moses had an excuse.

“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’” Exodus 4:10 (NKJV)

Isaiah had one.

“So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 6:5 (NKJV)

Gideon had one:

“And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!’ Gideon said to Him, ‘O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.’ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?’ So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’”  Judges 6:12-15 (NKJV)

Do you struggle for the right words to share the gospel? Not a problem for God! (Luke 12:11)  Sinful lips? God has a fix for that. (Ephesians 4:22-24) Are you weak? His strength is made perfect in weakness! (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)   Too young in the faith to be taken seriously? Faith has no age limit. (1 Timothy 4:12-15)

So, let’s cut to the chase. What is your excuse for not faithfully responding to God’s call? I am not talking about the call to salvation. I am talking about how, now that we are saved, we must be willing to follow His leading: all day, every day. Let’s be about the tasks He ordained for us when He formed us in our mother’s womb!