"Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations-- that's what I had in mind for you."
But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don't know anything, I'm only a boy."
God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.' I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there..."
This comes from the first chapter in Jeremiah and this is the Message paraphrase of a passage I find very comforting. It isn't that I take the passage so personally as to believe that God conveys in his message to Jeremiah that we will all become his 'prophets to the nations' but I do believe that the intent in God's rebuke conveys to all his Followers. God is saying "Why protest my plan? I'm giving you a command. Follow it. Why question what I have so clearly laid before you? It may not be the easiest job on earth, but rest assured, I will enable you along the way."
I like the Old Testament. Some people shy away from it but I enjoy it immensely, mostly because the language is so poetic and because the terms are laid out so discreetly. God speaks broadly to His people through his direct lessons to his prophets. In this passage, Jeremiah is being told of God's plan for him. He not only knows that there IS a plan-- he is told WHAT that plan is. God doesn't always spell things out so clearly; he does, however, open up ways and means and make clear paths that will and won't fit within His plan. .... to be continued...
