Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Lord said:
“Jeremiah, I am your Creator,
and before you were born,
I chose you to speak for me
to the nations.”
I replied, “I’m not a good speaker, Lord, and I’m too young.”
“Don’t say you’re too young,” the Lord answered. “If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don’t leave out a word! I promise to be with you and keep you safe, so don’t be afraid.”
The Lord reached out his hand, then he touched my mouth and said, “I am giving you the words to say, and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for me. You will tell them of doom and destruction, and of rising and rebuilding again.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Do you remember when you were a little kid, and team captains “chose sides” on the playground or in gym class? Do you remember how it felt to stand there, inwardly thinking, “Pick me! Pick me!” and knowing that it was the captain’s choice? Who – and how – he/she chose would affect everyone… but still, the choice was his/hers to make.
Nearly every day, someone will make a choice that is theirs to make… but it will greatly affect your life. Your friend may decide to drink and drive… smoke, do drugs, participate in something illegal or immoral… and you may have to distance – or dissolve – your friendship, if a resolution cannot be reached. Your roommate may fail to study… and flunk out of college. Not only will he/she be affected… you will lose your roomie. Your friends may neglect to pay their bills or show up for work, and the loss of their job, property and more may be devastating to them – and to you. Your aging spouse may refuse to give up driving… and you may have to refuse to ride with him/her any more. Your parents may move to another state… and you may have to go with them. Or your children may move across the country – and take your grandchildren along. OR… you may have to make room in your home for aging relatives who can no longer live alone.
When people make personal choices that are well within their rights – and sometimes when “life” makes choices for them - others still may be greatly affected. And when we are one of those people, how do we handle this? The only answer that makes any sense to me is to trust God for the outcome. If God decides to allow the choice and you are hurt in the bargain, trust Him to comfort you and restore your hope and joy. If God elects to lead the person in the direction that favors your preferences, humbly and gratefully praise Him. When God seems to allow “bad things to happen to good people”, ask Him to show you what He wants you to learn from this… how you can grow – and how you can use the outcome to glorify His name and bless and encourage others.
My mother shared one of her recent devotionals from a book written by Bishop TD Jakes, in which he suggested that when we face adversity or challenge, we throw it at God… that we hurl it as hard and fast as we can toward Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins, and say, “Here you go, LORD… handle THIS for me!” (I’m paraphrasing.) I don’t know about you, but I will probably be doing a lot of throwing in the coming days/weeks/years. The GOOD NEWS is that God can catch – and handle – every test of faith that I toss His way.
What about you… what will you do with your challenges? Are you ready to warm up your “pitching arm”?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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