Jeremiah‬ ‭1:6‬

“Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”” – Jeremiah‬ ‭1:6‬

The story of the prophet Jeremiah is very encouraging to me as a young maidservant of the LORD Jesus. He served God with perseverance and faithfulness despite the little visible from his ministry. He was called by God to warn the people of Judah about the coming judgment because of their idolatry. He also witnessed the destruction and siege of Jerusalem as he watched the people of Judah taken into exile in Babylon. Despite the great discouragement, opposition, and small results, Jeremiah remained faithful and obedient to God.

The prophet Jeremiah became a great encouragement to all of us. There are moments of discouragement when the results are not what we hoped to see, even after pouring out our heart, strength, and talents into the work God has given us. It can be discouraging when we see little or no visible fruit from our labor. Yet Jeremiah remained faithful and obedient to God until the end of his life. 

Why did I begin with this? Because when God told Jeremiah that he would be a prophet to the nations, God was not speaking empty or vain words over his future. When God calls you to something, that is who He has called you to be. For God declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). Before we took our first breath, God already knew the day we would take our last. When God called Jeremiah, He already saw the faithful and obedient prophet Jeremiah would become. He was the right person for the assignment God had given him. In the same way, when God calls us, He has already chosen us for the work He knew we are able to fulfilled.

The verse we are going to dive into is Jeremiah’s response when God called him. He did not respond with excitement by saying, “Yes, Lord! Let’s do it!” Instead, he said, “Ah, Lord God!” is an expression of deep emotion of reluctance or a sense of inadequacy to the role God will entrust Him with.

Have you ever been in a situation where the people around you encouraged you to step into a position or a role because they saw your ability to be able to fulfill the role, but your first response was, “Oh no! I am not that good …”? That expression is similar to Jeremiah’s response.

Jeremiah was raised in a priestly household (Jeremiah 1:1) just like some men and women who were raised in a Christian household. His family was familiar with the Scriptures, and conversations about the prophets and the lives of the priests who came before them were likely common at their table. Jeremiah knew that God’s calling came with a cost. He knew about Samuel, who anointed King David (1 Samuel 16:13). He knew about Elijah, who boldly confronted kings and declared that there would be no rain by God’s word and later he prayed for God to send the rain again (1 Kings 17–18; James 5:17–18). He also knew about Isaiah, whom God commanded to walk naked and barefoot as a sign of coming judgment (Isaiah 20:2–4). Jeremiah also knew that many of God’s prophets had been rejected, persecuted, and some were even killed by their own people. He fully understood that being God’s prophet was not an easy calling.

Jeremiah’s background helped him understand the cost of God’s calling. When he said, Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” His response was not a refusal. He was stating his present condition as a young and inexperienced man. When we desire to serve God, we become deeply aware of our shortcomings. Moses was called by God at the age of eighty, yet even at his age he felt hesitant, inadequate, and reluctant to accept God’s calling on his life (Exodus 3–4). Moses was so reluctant that he even asked God to send someone else instead of him. “He said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send” (Exodus 4:13). We often think that before we can serve God, we must first become highly intelligent, capable, eloquent, and fully prepared. After all, we are serving God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Absolutely, we should serve Him with reverence and highest honor. But it is a worldly mindset to believe that we must first qualify ourselves before God can use us.

Remember this: anything that exalts us above what God has called us to be is pride, and anything that lowers us below what God says about us is false humility. 

The first qualification for serving God is obedience. When God calls us to a specific assignment, it requires wholehearted obedience because He gives specific instructions for the work He wants us to do. Our responsibility is to carry out His will according to His purpose, not our own ideas. Have you noticed how detailed God’s instructions were to Noah when He commanded him to build the ark (Genesis 6:14–16)? Another example is the tabernacle, which God instructed Moses to build according to His exact pattern (Exodus 25:8–9, 40). God is God of order. God is intentional in everything He does. He gives precise instructions because every detail serves His perfect purpose. God’s work must be carried out according to His will, not our preferences. This is where King Saul failed. God did not reject Saul because he lacked ability or leadership skills. He rejected him because he chose to disobey God’s command (1 Samuel 15:22-29). God does not call only those who are qualified; He qualifies those whom He calls. Because they follow God wholeheartedly.

As a young minister myself, I am aware of my own incapability to accomplish the assignments God has entrusted to me. Due to my lack of experience, I have made many mistakes and have sometimes offended others. I truly understand Jeremiah’s hesitation as a young servant of God. Yet, his hesitation was not a refusal. Remember the parable of the LORD Jesus about the two sons. One son said, “I will not,” but afterward changed his mind and went to work in his father’s vineyard. The other said, “I go, sir,” but never went (Matthew 21:28–31). In the end, it was not the son’s first response that mattered most, but his obedience. Likewise, Jeremiah’s response was hesitation, but he obeyed God’s calling and faithfully fulfilled the assignment God had given him.

Reluctance to do the work and refusal to do the work are two different responses.

Reluctance is not the same as saying “no.” A reluctant person carefully considers the situation before stepping into it. They count the cost. They evaluate whether they have the strength, abilities, time, and commitment to carry out the responsibility before them. Refusal, on the other hand, is a decision not to obey. It comes from an unwillingness to do what God has asked. Jeremiah’s reluctance was not a sign of weakness but a reflection of how seriously he took God’s calling. He understood the weight of the task God was about to entrust to him. He knew that God’s calling would require faithfulness in the midst of discouragement, rejection, persecution, suffering, and even when there was little or no visible result despite years of faithful labor. Remember the teaching of the LORD Jesus about the importance of counting the cost before accepting the task without evaluating the situation (Luke 14:27–33).

When God calls you to do something, He already knows your shortcomings, limitations, and weaknesses. Nothing about you surprises Him. He calls you because He knows your heart. Abilities can be developed, skills can be learned, and experience can be gained. But a willing and obedient heart cannot be manufactured. God has given every one of us the gift of free will. He gives us the choice to believe in Him, to follow Him, and to submit to His will.

Remember this: skills can be taught, abilities can be developed, and experience can be gained, but no one can force a heart to willingly love and obey God. That choice is a gift given to each one of us. So our response should be like Mary, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” … (Luke 1:38). We may not understand everything, and that is okay. We may not feel qualified, and that is okay, because God equips those whom He calls. We may even struggle to trust Him at times, and that is okay. As we continue to dive into God’s response to Jeremiah’s response to His calling, we see that God encourages Jeremiah. Rather than dwelling on Jeremiah’s limitations, God reassures him of His presence with him at all times.

As I said earlier, God already knows everything about us. Nothing is hidden from Him. As it is written, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews‬ ‭4:13‬ ‭

If you are willing to give this world a chance, how much more should you give God a chance? If you are willing to trust people who can fail you, how much more should you trust the God who never fails?