Before I Formed Thee

The Story

Jeremiah was a young man from a family of priests in a small town near Jerusalem. One day, the word of the Lord came to him.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the belly I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

Jeremiah’s response was immediate and honest. “Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”

He felt too young, too inexperienced, and too small for the job.

But God said, “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee.”

Then the Lord reached out and touched Jeremiah’s mouth. “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.”

Jeremiah went on to serve as a prophet for more than forty years, through some of the hardest days in Israel’s history.

Reflection