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Verse:But the LORD said unto me, 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, saith the LORD. —Jeremiah 1:7, 8, KJV
If I asked you, as you read this devotional, about the expectations folks had of you when you were in school, I would expect to hear something like “most likely to succeed,” or, “She will make a very good teacher [or preacher, lawyer, doctor, nurse, scientist, or engineer].” Perhaps someone expected that you would be a “good wife” or “good mother.” These affirmations might even have been written in your yearbook.
But what about those who did not hear such laudable and uplifting comments? Perhaps they overheard that “she will never amount to much in life.” Maybe someone told them they were lazy or lacked discipline or capabilities. In many households, children are described as dumb, clumsy, foolish, selfish, and uncaring. Have you ever heard this expression: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? That is a fable—words matter greatly! Words can make or break a person. Words can lift us up as much and as quickly as they can bring us down. In fact, Scripture tells us that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11, KJV). Otherwise stated, “How delightful is a timely word!”
Gideon was not a warrior when God called him to lead His people into battle against the Midianites. Teenager Mary was called by God to be the mother of Jesus under unusual circumstances. Jeremiah was also very young when he was called to be a prophet in Judah. Moses was saved from the Nile River to become an Egyptian prince before becoming a murderer, a shepherd, and then the chosen leader of the children of Israel. Future king David was only a shepherd boy when God called him to slay Israel’s nemesis, the Philistine giant, Goliath. Ellen G. White was a sickly teenager when God called her to exercise a prophetic gift. Nothing is impossible with God.
Dear sisters, I encourage you to trust God with your life. What He has done for others, He can certainly do for you. God loves to honor and bless the “improbables” and the “unlikelies.” Our God is indeed awesome!
Avis Mae Rodney