Throughout the Bible, God often takes the most unlikely persons to do His work. Each time God equips them for their task. One of the wonders of God’s economy is how He accomplishes extraordinary things through ordinary people.
Jeremiah’s name means “The Lord throws,” either in the sense of “hurling” the prophet into a hostile world or of “throwing down” the nations in divine judgment for their sins. (Concordia Self -study Bible p. 1117). Either way, from his name we can tell that this young man, who was eventually nicknamed “The Weeping Prophet” wasn’t destined to be the most popular guy in town. But that’s not to say he lacked a sense of purpose and fulfillment in his life. I dare say, quite the contrary.
The passage from Jeremiah 1:4-10 speaks of Jeremiah’s call to be God’s mouthpiece to His people. This passage leads us to consider three crucial questions: 1) Who Am I? 2) Why Am I Here? and 3) Who Supplies My Power for Living? Jeremiah had to face these crucial questions as he contemplated God’s call on his life and so do we, since as Christians we’re all called to serve God as He sees fit.