A Deer in the Headlights

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Have you ever been driving down a dark country road, and suddenly your headlights catch the reflective eyes of a large animal in the middle of the road?  As your foot jumps over to the brake pedal in an effort to slow down or stop so that you don’t hit the animal in front of you, you see that it is a deer standing in the middle of the road, wide-eyed, watching your oncoming car about to turn it into venison steaks.

You caught the animal off guard, and it’s just frozen there in the road.

That’s what we look like quite often when God calls us to serve him.

Here’s a deer-in-the-headlights thought: God is calling you for his purpose.  Maybe you’re thinking, “No way!” But I say, “Yes way!” Or, if we were Swedish or German, we might say, “Yah weh!”

 

In today’s scripture, Jeremiah has that kind of experience.  Jeremiah expected to be a priest. There was stability in being a priest. You knew what was expected of you. The law hadn’t changed in thousands of years. All the person had to do was follow instructions.

But God calls Jeremiah to the more uncertain task of being a prophet.

You see, God does the unexpected with us.

Think of Moses, Gideon, Solomon, the widow of Zarephath, the disciples, Jeremiah. None of these felt they were capable of doing what God called them to do. When God first called them, they all had a case of “the onlys”.
Moses tells God, “I can’t stand up to Pharaoh. I’m only a shepherd. I can’t even talk good” (Exodus 3:12, 4:1).
Gideon tells God, "I’m only the least in my family," when God calls him to deliver Israel from Midian (Judges 6:15).
Solomon, faced with the challenges of being king like his father tells God: "I am only a little child" (1 Kings 3:7).
When asked for bread and water by Elijah, the widow of Zarephath replied: "I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug" (1Kings 17:12).
The disciples, when told by Jesus to go feed the multitude, protested: "We only have five loaves and two fish" (Matthew 14:17).
And today we hear Jeremiah, when called by God, who says: "I am only a boy" (Jeremiah 1:6).
 

But while Jeremiah stands dazed in the middle of the road, God assures him of 3 things in this passage:
1. Of his election to this office- God chose him and not the other way around.
Before he knew of God or knew anything in this life, God saw him and called him and was equipping him to this difficult task.

Rick Warren, the author of the Purpose Driven Life begins his book saying;
“It’s not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.”
Notice what God says to Jeremiah; “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” It all begins with God.

It might be scary, but the fact that you were born tell us that you have something to contribute to this generation.
Proverbs 16:4 says; “The Lord made everything to contribute to its own end and to His purpose”; our lives matter because they contribute to God’s ultimate purpose.
We are part of God’s plan for humanity. There is a purpose for our existence and it’s much larger than what we see here.
 

2. God assures him of his protection. Several times Jeremiah almost dies for his faith. There were people that wanted to kill Jeremiah. Jeremiah lives despite this because God is His shield.
God says if you place Him first He will take care of everything else. (“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be added on to you”).

3. God assures him of His authority. God gives him His word. Jeremiah is not going to be preaching his own opinion or thoughts, but God’s Word. This word has power and doesn’t return void. Too many times today people want popularity with people and compromise the Word of God and water it down.
Jeremiah could have easily done that. But, he did not. And in so doing, he didn’t always tell the people what they wanted to hear.

 

We wonder, how old was Jeremiah when God called him? Jeremiah’s reply of “I’m too young” probably means he was still in his teens. A teenager! Now parents, when you ask your teenager to take out the trash, or something equally simple, what kind of response do you get? Aww!
I get a similar response from most groups I meet with, youth or adult. At the end of the meeting, I would ask, “Who would like to close in prayer?” They always responded, “You!” Aww!

So God calls us and we get a case of the “awws” and “onlys”. We say, aww, I’m only ordinary, only young, only old, only an amateur, only a few years left, only one hand, only this, only that. We’ve all done it at some point in our lives. We have complexes thinking we’re never strong enough, humble enough, smart enough, articulate enough, good enough.

Yahweh knew that Jeremiah needed assurance, so he said to him, “…don’t be afraid of the people for I will be with you and take care of you.” Then God touched his mouth and said, “See, I have put my words in your mouth.”

Picture this: A bird is sitting on the edge of a tree branch and his mother comes right up behind him. Now the normal response for a human mother would be to bring him back to the safety of the nest near the center of the tree. The mother bird however pushes her child off the edge of the tree. The baby bird now has two options; one he can spread his wings and fly or he can become a messy splat on the ground. The mother knows that her child may very well die here today, but also realizes that in order for him to figure out how to fly he must be put in a situation that calls for that.

God sometimes does the same to us. He calls us to God-sized tasks that test our faith. The nest is not meant to be lived in forever. It is a temporary place. In fact, after being commanded by God to move, it can also become a place of disobedience. We need to realize though that what God calls us to He equips and enables us to do. When Jeremiah was told that God wanted him to be a prophet; He was reluctant at first. But, God told him that He was able to do all of this and more.

In the song, “I Believe I Can Fly” R. Kelly says:
“Now I know the meaning of true love, I’m leaning on the everlasting arms.
If I can see it, then I can do it. If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it.”

This is true for you and me also.
In the same way as that mother pushes her baby, nudging it into the next phase of life, God does the same for us. When Jeremiah told God that he couldn’t do what he had been instructed to do, God said, “Do not say, ‘I am too young’, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.”

God provided a scared stutterer (Moses) with the eloquent voice that made a pharaoh tremble and release the slaves that had been in bondage for years. He gave a boy (Jeremiah) with an inferiority complex the courage to speak to nations. He even gave a sinner (me) a second chance.
In these and all other cases, God gave those he called the gifts to get the job done. He may have had to push some of us. But it’s not really a push like the mother bird gave her baby. It’s more like a gentle hand on the back which, if you think about it, can also be a hand used to steady us when we falter with the task God has called us to.
There is a saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with single step”. That means you can’t get from here to there all at once. You have to take that first step. And remember that God will be with you the whole way.

Which is what Jeremiah needed to be reminded of. The Lord said he would give Jeremiah the words to say, then he hits him with the rest of the story. In verse 10 we see to whom Jeremiah was to go speak. He was to speak to the nations and kingdoms. Maybe that’s where our hesitation comes in.

We’re afraid God may ask us to do something REALLY REALLY BIG. What God generally asks of us is nothing compared to what he asked Jeremiah to do. He probably won’t ask you to speak before Congress but he might ask you to give a talk at a church family gathering, or maybe just talk to your neighbor.
God may not call you to be the pastor of a church but he might want you to lead a Bible study. God may not call you to feed 5000 people, but he might call you to work at some church dinners.

God may not call you to lead nations, but he may call you in the next couple of months to lead or serve on a ministry team here at St. Paul’s.

 

God is calling us. We must answer. We must take the first step, no matter how scary it may seem. God is patient. He’ll keep calling. And remember, if God takes you to it, then God will see you through it. Unlike the mother bird that just pushes and watches, when you start to free fall God is right there to help and support you.
So when God calls, answer. Don’t stand there like a deer in the headlights. Don’t put him on hold. Find out what he wants, take that first step, and get ready for an exciting journey……with God.