“But
how can they call to Him for help if they have not believed? And how can they
believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the
message is not proclaimed?” Romans 10:14 (TEV)
Where
was she? My friend and I had agreed to meet at the church at 9 AM for a
planning session. She was never late. Concerned, I called to see if everything
was okay.
“I
guess you didn’t get my message last evening,” she said. “Mom needs a ride to
the dentist this morning. I won’t be able to get to the church till 10.”
No,
I hadn’t gotten the message. Chuckling, we commiserated over the unreliability
of our kids with messages at times and agreed to meet later.
With
nearly an hour to fill, I pulled a Bible from a nearby shelf. While reading in
the book of Jeremiah, the word “message” jumped off the page: “Listen to my
message.” (Jeremiah 10:1) “Announce my message.” (Jeremiah 17:19), “Give this
message.” (Jeremiah 22:11). Eleven times the Lord instructed Jeremiah to “Proclaim”
His message. After I got home, I did an Internet search, and discovered that
the word “message” appears 49 times in the Good News Translation of the book of
Jeremiah!
God
has entrusted us with His most important message, the message of salvation from
our sins through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. He expects us to deliver that
message to others. How reliable are we? Are we sharing His message? Have we
passed on God’s message of Good News?
Often, we are
more like the prophet Jonah than Jeremiah. We shrink from our responsibility, fearing
that we won’t know what to say or how to say it. We make excuses; we hope
someone else will speak up.
Even
Jeremiah quibbled a bit about sharing God’s message. “Sovereign Lord, I don't know how to
speak; I am too young.”
We can draw
encouragement from God’s words to Jeremiah: “Do not say that you are too young,
but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to
say. Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you. I, the Lord, have
spoken!”
Then the Lord
reached out, touched my lips, and said to me, “Listen, I am giving you the
words you must speak.” (Jeremiah 1:6-9)
God
has a message He wants us to deliver, and He promises to give us the words. May
we speak so others can hear; may they hear so they can believe.
Be
encouraged!
Pam©2017 Pamela D. Williams
