The 5 Don’ts of the Call of God

January 10, 2017 Year A

Jeremiah 1:4-10

When God calls you to serve Him, you don’t say no. In the first chapter of Jeremiah, we are introduced to the call of God on Jeremiah’s like. Like Exodus 3, we see that God calls out a man to serve Him. In the same way, we see the doubts and hesitations that may come with being told to serve God. It is a daunting task. Yet, God reminds you, like He reminded Jeremiah, you don’t get to say no. So when God calls you, here are five things you don’t do:

1. Don’t forget (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

“The word of the Lord came to me: 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.” (Jeremiah 1:4–5, HCSB)

God does not want you to forget that He is the One who called you. Like Jeremiah, God planned your call before you were born. God set you apart for His service and appointed you for His work.

Don’t forget that God has already set things in motion for Him to do great things through you. He wants to use you and He will use you in amazing ways. This is because He has had time to plan what you are to do.

2. Don’t fight (Jeremiah 1:6-7)

“But I protested, “Oh no, Lord, God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.” 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.” (Jeremiah 1:6–7, HCSB)

Don’t resist the call of God. Don’t fight or protest it. The first initial reaction when someone discovers that God has called them to His service is to resist. Resistance to God’s call is futile. No matter what excuses you throw at God, He won’t tolerate them. It doesn’t matter how little you think of yourself. God has big opportunities in store for you if you submit to His call.

3. Don’t fear (Jeremiah 1:8)

“Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you. This is the Lord’s declaration.” (Jeremiah 1:8, HCSB)

Next, don’t fear the call of God. After the initial resistance, you may grudgingly accept that God wants to use you. But then fear can set in. God tells Jeremiah to not be afraid of anyone. This means anyone – no demon, no deacon, no detractor, no defamer. No one. When God calls you, you need to also learn to trust God. Fear is the greatest threat to trusting God. But when God calls you, He will take care of you.

4. Don’t fold (Jeremiah 1:9)

“Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and told me: I have now filled your mouth with My words.” (Jeremiah 1:9, HCSB)

When God calls you, He also provides for you. Many times, one can look at the circumstances and say that “it can’t be done.” “There are not enough resources.”

But God says don’t fold – don’t give up. God reaches out to you and touches you. He will give you the provision and the power to fulfill the call.

5. Don’t flinch (Jeremiah 1:10)

“See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10, HCSB)

You may look at the task ahead and you may flinch. Looking at the difficult task ahead you may decide: “I can’t do that?”  You may wonder: “How can I be involved in such difficult work?” even asking God “God, You want me to say such difficult things. How will the people react?”

God says: Don’t worry about it. You won’t fail. If you do what God tells you, in the way God tells you, then you won’t fail. God is the One Who calls you. He is the One who appointed you for the task. He will be the One to sustain you when the mission gets hard. When the task is hard, and you don’t know if you can make it, you have to remember that God is the One who created you, who called you, and He will help when the tough times come. And they will come.

When you see things uproot and tear down, you may want to flinch. You may doubt what’s going on with God when things seem to be destroyed and demolished.  As you follow Him in the call He has given, you may wonder where things are going. When things are so hard that nothing else will help, you have to remember that the same God Who you trusted when things were uprooted and torn is the same God Who will lead you to build and plant. God will be there to help you. So don’t flinch when things look difficult. Have faith that God will take care of you because He has appointed you for the task ahead.