"Thy words were found and I ate them,
And Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Thy Name, O Lord God of hosts."
(Jeremiah 15:16, NASB)
God called Jeremiah to deliver a hard message to His people. Jeremiah - like many of us when God calls us to do something - felt completely insufficient and ill-equipped. He was called to a task that was much bigger than himself. A task that was far beyond his ability.
When I think of people being called by God to accomplish a specific task, I think of surrendered humility. I think of someone like Jeremiah who said:
“Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young” (Jeremiah 1:6).
I think of someone who, like Jeremiah, was able to hide his insufficiency behind the ALL-Sufficiency of the God Most High:
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. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.
Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:7-10).
What I love about certain biblical figures is their ability to utterly forsake their own agendas and pride and completely rely on the power given to them by Almighty God.
Our pride, arrogance, and boasting (in ourselves) grosses Him out.
I memorized the above Scripture verse yesterday (Jeremiah 15:16). I recited it so many times that I believe my little 6-month-old thought I had lost my mind. I paced his room over and over speaking this Word aloud. And this is why:
Because I do not ever want to forget that there is power in the Word of God. When I found the Word - when I truly made the effort to know God through His Word - He gave me an intense appetite for His Truth. As my appetite for His Word increased, it became for me ... the delight of my heart.
God's Word did not magically become the delight of Jeremiah's heart. He had to listen to It ... he had to reflect on It ... he had to allow It to transform His mission. Too often we operate under the assumption that God's Word only transforms some people's lives. That God only gifts some people with the ability to understand His precepts. This is the lie that the enemy wants us to believe in order to keep us totally ineffective to a lost world.
Have you gone to His Word for guidance and instruction? Do you believe there is power in the Word of God? Are you seeing this power demonstrated in your life as a believer?
God desires His Word to become the delight of our heart.
