As I began our reading this morning the very first words
struck a cord of humility for me. God is speaking to Jeremiah, one of his
greatest prophets in the OT. He is speaking of his coming judgment on Judah
because of the sins of the people and especially King Manasshe (15:4). And he
says to Jeremiah, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would
not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!”
(15:1) Jeremiah was a great prophet but Moses and Samuel were recognized as
greats among the great. The people had their writings to read as God’s Word for
them. And God, in effect, says to Jeremiah that they are much greater prophets
and leaders than he is. If nothing else this verse stands as a dose of humility
for Jeremiah.
If that is so, then who do I think I am? How can I possibly
think that I could lead a church? I’m not a prophet nor the son of a prophet.
I’m just a guy from Tupelo, MS, a small town in the South, who never did
anything worthy of note. There were and are so many more qualified than I to be
a pastor of a church.
And then I remembered, God still needs his Jeremiah’s. He
may not be on the level of a Moses or a Samuel, but he is still God’s man for
that place and that time and those people. And God still uses his pastors,
literally hundreds of thousands of us through church history, in out-of-the-way
places, leading these people for a season. So for me this was a reminder for
the need of humility in all I do as a pastor but also a great encouragement
that I don’t have to be Moses or Samuel. God can still use me as he did
Jeremiah.
What about you? You may not be recognized as the greatest at
what you do for the Lord either. But God needs the great and the small. He
simply needs us to be faithful as his servants and stewards.
Prayer: Father, thank you for the reminder today that I am
part of your plan. Help me neither to be puffed up nor to be discouraged. Help
me to be faithful.
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