God's promise to the Called
We have begun a walk through the book of Jeremiah! Join me in enjoying a garden of color and beauty. We will inhale the aroma of God’s faithful promises of love and mercy. We will stop to “smell the roses” by lingering over specific scripture.
We may also notice weeds of sin choking out the beauty, attempting to destroy this garden of the Lord.
Through prayer, we uproot the weeds and clear the way for new growth.
Every two weeks we will consider afresh a chapter from Jeremiah, and review the content. Then, we will linger over three verses to use as a strategic tool for prayer in our days.
Be sure to subscribe to receive the printable journal pages for following along here and in your quiet time. These will be delivered to subscribers *only* every other Monday. You may also contact me for the journal pages from previous chapters.
In the previous post, God called Jeremiah to prophesy to the Land of Israel and surrounding nations. Jeremiah balks at this. Who is he to speak for God? We also get the feeling such an important call made the man nervous. He was most likely a young man, but the enormity of the task had him feeling like a small child.
God then goes on to reassure His prophet He will be faithful to fulfill the words he gives him, and will protect Jeremiah from the persecution that is sure to come.
We are in the second half of chapter one. Turn now to Jeremiah 1:19
God gives Jeremiah a vision of an Almond branch and asks the prophet what he sees.
“An Almond Branch,” Jeremiah responds
Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. [Jeremiah 1:12 KJV]
As we begin to fulfill our call, what is it we need to know?
First: That He DID call us, which we considered in verse 5.
But equally significant is knowing that God will be with us each step of the way and what we do is not in vain.
God shows Jeremiah an almond branch. This a Hebrew play on words. You see, the almond tree blossoms first, It’s known as the “awakening tree.” The branches begin to bud and bloom in January! That means, right now, the Almond tree is blooming. Didn’t Jesus say something about being discerning each season of our life?
He said in Matt 24:33 that just as we see the fig tree blossom we can know summer is near. Yet here is the almond tree, blooming in January. That means God is on the lookout, preparing things well in advance. If we will but watch and pray… we can have understanding and not be shaken when things occur that would rattle most men’s souls.
This is the reassurance to Jeremiah that the Words He gives Jeremiah are from Him, and are important to God. Therefore, God is not just sending the man into a battle to get shot up! No, God is going to be carefully overseeing these prophecies and Jeremiah will be able to count on them coming to pass!
Has God given you His word?
Know that He is overseeing it well in advance, and He will be certain to perform it.
Prayer Points
May we discern the season we are in as individuals
May our churches and community be discerning of the times.
May we trust God to fulfill His promises to us
The final verse I chose for this weeks podcast is Jeremiah 1:19
And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee. [Jeremiah 1:19 KJV]
Earlier in the chapter Jeremiah is a bit freaked out about this call. He says “But I am only a child!” We don’t know how old He was when this message from God’s throne came to him, but it is presumed he was fairly young, older teens perhaps because he went on to prophecy for over forty years.
Yet I know, even at my “not-so-young” age, when the Lord puts a task before me, I feel like a child boarding a roller-coaster. I feel Helpless, unqualified, and a bit frightened. I relate to Jeremiah! He has a choice to run like the dickens or step into a clear battlefield.
God didn’t say “Hey Jer, You will be a huge TikTok star and people will pour money into your ministry so you can stop flipping burgers for a living. “
No, instead God says “Hey, don’t worry about it. Sure, they will be angry and fight you, but I will deliver you!”
*gulp* thanks?
I was shocked to learn, when the Lord first called me into ministry, that, well, there was rejection! Aloneness. Tears. Times I genuinely felt forsaken by the Most High! Not to mention poverty, stress, and betrayal.
Yet in it all, God was with me and delivered me.
I wouldn’t trade those years now for anything. I have precious moments to recall of God providing comfort, help, and finances. It was the “proof in the pudding” that he was indeed watching over His word, and me! It is what has given me courage over and over to step out and share His words with you, even today.
Pray Jeremiah 1:19
Pray that we will come to God as a child
Pray that we will know God’s desire is to watch over us
To run into the battles before us, unafraid
Let’s summarize:
God has a call on your life
He will be with you in that call
You will face difficulties, but God will deliver you.
There are a lot of great verses and thoughts from Jeremiah 1! Take time, if you haven’t already, to read the chapter, and let the Lord minister His truth to your spirit. Choose at least one more verse to meditate on and pray over.
Don’t forget to hit the link below to subscribe for free and be ready for our next prayerful dive into Jeremiah!
Hallelujah! Thanks for the good word Joni. I am reading along the book of Jeremiah and feeling encouraged by your blog to really dig into it.