Jeremiah 1 (HCSB)
1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord, God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.”
7 Then the Lord said to me:
Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you.
8 Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you. This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and told me:
I have now filled your mouth with My words.
10 See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.
Two Visions
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it.” 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, “What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a boiling pot, its lip tilted from the north to the south.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured out from the north on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.
16 “I will pronounce My judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.
17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you, since I am with you to rescue you.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 6-8): Wow, Father. These verses are definitely speaking to me this morning. Far too often in my faith journey with You, I have felt like I shouldn’t speak up to some of my elder Christians because “I am only a youth” in my faith walk. Even if I felt convicted by You to say something in that moment, I wasn’t sure if it was conviction from You or simply my own pride and ego bringing it to the forefront. I would feel a rush of fear about being wrong which I didn’t want to ever be wrong, so I would I even make that a possibility? As a result, I often would stay silent and just simply allow them to speak whatever they were speaking in the moment without any questions or thoughts from me to them. Please forgive me for my silence out of fear, Father. Help me to have the courage, strength, and confidence in Your truths and Your word so that I may speak when I feel You are telling me to speak, Father.
PROMISE (verses 5, 18-19): Such an amazing promise You make to us here, Father. First You say that we are chosen and set apart before we were even born or even formed in the womb. Then You say that You have made us into “a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls” to be able to take on anything this world may bring to us. This is such a powerful combination of verses, Father. To know that not only are we chosen by You before we’re even a thought in our parents’ minds, but also that we are carefully crafted in a way that through You we can take on ANYTHING this world may throw at us. Thank You so much for this powerful promise, Father. Help me to remember that all that I am and all that I’m able to do in this life is not because of my own strength and knowledge, but because You crafted and sculpted me in a way that with You I can do these things. Thank You!
ATTITUDE (verse 8, 19): Father, help me to change my self-righteous, self-reliant, and often fear-filled attitude towards this life. You say that we should not be afraid and will never be defeated because You will deliver and rescue us! Help me to remember that You are always there with me just waiting for me to lean on You for strength, wisdom, courage, and bravery. Help me to always lean on You through all things this life throws at me, regardless of if it’s positive or negative. Help me to remember to never have an attitude of fear to speak about Your truths in any situation, since You are my deliverer.
COMMAND (verse 17): In this verse, Father, You tell us to “stand up and tell them everything that I command you.” You follow it up by telling us not to be intimidated by them. Help me to build so much confidence in my relationship with You, Father, that I have no fear and feel no intimidation when You convict me to stand up and tell others what You have commanded me to say. Help me to continue to build our relationship on a consistent basis, Father, so that I never feel intimidated or fearful ever again.
EXAMPLE (verses 7-9, 17-19): You give us so many examples to live by in this Scripture, Father. The main theme of the examples, however, is for me to build up the confidence in my relationship with You and in Your word so that I do not live in fear to communicate what You have commanded. You tell us to live in a way that we are not fearful or intimidate in the “youth” of our faith journey, because You are always there with us. Help me to always be open and confident in Your truth, so that when the time comes that You command me to speak, I will do so and have no fear about speaking Your words, Father. Thank You for such an amazing example to live by in this Scripture, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: Wow, first day in Jeremiah and You are definitely speaking loudly to and directly at me, Father. Thank You for such a great example to follow in this first chapter of Jeremiah. Help me to no longer live in fear and to no longer lack confidence in Your words and Your truths, Father. Help me to be confident in my interpretation and understanding of our relationship and Your commands, Father, so I will always be one that stands-up for You and is never intimidated. Thank You, Father, for giving me the fruits of the Spirit so I may be confident in the teachings You provide to me.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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