Wake Up! God’s Calling

March 13, 2011

Jeremiah 1:4-7

⁴ The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷ But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

Did God choose you? This ineffable, cosmic presence of ethereal energy to shape the universe, spin planets, manage the human genome, ignite the Big Bag, fuse hydrogen, slit atoms, balance gravity and black holes ... did He choose you?

In the face of universe, maybe at one time or another, when you paused on a mid-summer’s night and starred into the vastness of the canopy of the stars overhead, you wondered -- like Jeremiah, or Gideon, or Moses, or Abraham, or Sarah, or Peter, or Paul, or Thomas, -- “Who me?”

Do you sometimes feel like Jeremiah, unqualified? “Whose going to listen to me? No one takes me seriously!” (Jeremiah 1:6 paraphrase )

There are many times we have to put on airs of being competent for our jobs that we really feel unqualified for, but people expect confidence and competence, so we pretend, sometimes with a bit too much arrogance, that we have it all together.

Late at night, under the stars, starring at the canopy of endless margins, alone, no one but you, your breath and the Holy Spirit, you breathe in deeply and feel a rush of weight crushing upon your chest knowing you really have no idea what in the name of God you are doing. And you pause, like Jeremiah, and cry out to God, “You must be nuts. How I am to do this?”

This is also the way Gideon saw himself as well. In Judges 6, Gideon we get a hint of the problem confronting Gideon. In Judges 6:11, we read he, “threshed his wheat harvest in the winepress,” which may not mean much unless we realize wheat is usually threshed on the threshing floor. Gideon was hiding himself from his adversaries, the Midianites, cowarding in the winepress, feeling unqualified and scared to face his challenges. (Judges 6:11)

I have told some of your about this during our Tuesday night prayer and meditation time, of what happened to me in 1972 after being ambushed by Jesus in Spokane, Washington. I had some inkling that I should be doing something for God other than going to school and working, but my reputation preceded me and I more often than not recoiled to what people thought of me, more than to what God was calling me. Who on earth would listen to a young, undisciplined, rebellious, troubled, insecure, frightened kid who embraced more of the works of the flesh than the fruits of the spirit? I popped open my third grade Bible, (I don’t think I had opened any other time expect to give the appearance that I knew where things were in the bible during Sunday School), and the pages fell open to Jeremiah 1... verse 6.

Like Jeremiah, Gideon questioned God’s choice of him. In his day, Gideon’s reputation was synonymous with the national mood of the Hebrew tribes trying to settle the Promised Land to the west of the Jordan River. Everyone in his tribe lived the part of the oppressed. There was a lack of courage, and Gideon demonstrated this widespread fear in himself.

Like Gideon, Jeremiah Gideon, questioned his competency for the job. In his day, youth were better “seen and not heard.” Think of the time the disciples refused to let the children come near Jesus simply because of their youth. Jeremiah reflected the cultural ethos of his day. There was a lack of respect, and Jeremiah demonstrated this widespread contempt in himself.

Both Gideon and Jeremiah were being defined by their past.

Carl Jung in The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, said, “Out of our common experience we become locked in unconscious expectations that replicate the patterns of the common experience.”

In effect, as psychiatrist Dr. Judith Lewis Herman pointed out, “Our problem is less that we have had a trauma in the past, than that we keep repeating and reenacting the trauma in the present.”

Jeremiah, Gideon, myself, most of us, are replaying our reputation, often unconsciously, and defining what we do based on our past, our reputations, what other say we are, or what we have experienced. As long as we keep reenacting from the past, even unconsciously, we will be saying to God as he calls, “Who me?” and walk away, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That’s insanity.

But look at how God sees Gideon:

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty-man-of-valor!’ (Judges 6:12) To the coward God gives the title, Man-of-Valor!

And, look at how God sees Jeremiah:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) To the insecure youth he gives the title Prophet to the Nations!

God “calls ‘em like HE sees ‘em!” not the way we see ‘em.

We see God doing this throughout Scripture – God assigning responsibilities to people who really don’t seem to fit the part, because God sees what we can become less than what we have been. While the rest of the world defines us by our reputation, God defines by our potential.

You may not feel like much, it may be because you are defining yourself by your reputation and your past and your patterns. For most? Well, it seems to be, “que sera, sera,” “c'est la vie.”

But God ... (those are becoming my favorite two words of the bible) But God! ... But God seems to be unwilling to let “whatever will be, to be” or to resign to “such is life.”

Jeremiah was defined by age limitations. He was too young. But God said, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth,’... Do not be afraid ..., for I am with you and will rescue you” ...and Jeremiah did as he was called. He went and proclaimed

Gideon was defined by emotional limitations. Gideon felt cowardly. He hid in the wine press where the challenges before could be avoided. But God said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty-man-of-valor!” ...and Gideon did as he was called. He led the nation out of their malaise.

And let’s not forget Abraham. Abraham knew he was ill-equipped to father a son at 100 years old, and his wife Sarah at ninety was far from her child bearing years. They even laughed a God for his divinely strange humor. Abraham was defined by physical limitations. But God said, “I will bless your wife and she will surely give you a son.”...and Abraham did as he was called, he kept the covenant with God and found his wife with child.

And let’s not forget about Isaiah. Listen to how Isaiah say himself. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5) Isaiah defined by his sinful limitations.

You too may feel unworthy, but God calls you worthy.

You too may not feel not ready, but God will make you ready.

You too may feel ill-equipped, but God will equip you.

Abraham felt overwhelmed by his physical limitations,

Gideon by his emotional limitations,

Jeremiah by his age limitations.

Isaiah was overwhelmed by his secret sins. tormented in his soul.

But God said, “Isaiah? Your guilt is taken away; your sin atoned for.”

And Isaiah responded ... ... “Here am I, Lord. Send me!”

Go! Go in the confidence. God has called, assigned, equipped, and enabled You. And in the confidence that He will remain with You ... Go!