Je 1:4-9 - Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
The issue for Jeremiah was fear. Fear of being to be young and fear of not knowing how to speak. God addresses this fear by ensuring him that God would do the sending, the giving of words and the delivering. The only thing that Jeremiah had to worry about was not being afraid. We can’t forget that Ephesians 2:10 says that God has created us in Christ Jesus to do good works which He has prepared in advance for us, each, to do. Not only had He a call on Jeremiah’s life, he also has a call on our lives. He will see to it that we are sufficiently equipped to do His works for Him, but we must trust and not fear. And, yet, there are more than 25 more times in the book of Jeremiash that God has to utter these same words: “Fear Not!” God is both firm and gracious in his reminding of us of his His sovereignty and sufficiency.
Jdg 7:1-3 - Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
This is such an amazing story of how God decimated Gideon’s army so that God would get the glory and not the Israelites. And, it is even more amazing that the first and most decisive blow was the 22,000 people who left because they feared. I wonder what we miss out on because of fear, and how displeasing this must be to God. I am thankful that Jeremiah obeyed even in his fear.
