We see in this passage of scripture that after the Lord told Jeremiah that he would go and proclaim a message to the people – people who would not be receptive to it, that the Lord reached out and touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said to him, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth.” The Lord reached out His hand and placed right in the prophet’s mouth what it was that He wanted him to say. From then on Jeremiah had the assurance that the power of God was upon him.
The question for us today is, does God still place His Word in us today? The answer is, absolutely. The Lord is still placing His message in the hearts, minds, and mouths of His servants. We have been called by the Lord, given a great commission, that we go therefore and teach all nations. As we go the Lord will guide and direct us. The message we share is not of human origin, but rather of divine origin. We have the assurance from God that He is with us. If God provides the assurance, then that is indeed perfect assurance. There are few guarantees in the world. We have no assurance that life will turn out the way we had hoped. And we certainly have no assurance that life will be trouble free. The Lord has made no such promise. But we thank the Lord that He has promised to be with us and to comfort us every step of the way. The assurance that the Lord offers is perfect because it will stand and is completely true. Jesus promised His presence in our lives. That is perfect assurance and the Spirit of the Lord will always be there to comfort and guide us through the dark times of life.
God is not in the business of discouraging people, but rather the Lord is all about encouraging people – that’s you and me. In our darkest hour and our times of discouragement we have the presence of God to help us. There is plenty of darkness and discouragement in the world, but Christ brings light and encouragement – at all times and through all circumstances. The last place we want to find ourselves is wandering through the pain of discouragement. Christ beings encouragement to us, for He knows us and He is with us. Just as God promised Jeremiah that He had called him would be there, and would empower him, so will the Lord do all that and more for us. Don’t allow yourself to be pulled down by the weight of discouragement – for the Lord is with us. William Ward had this to say about discouragement:
Discouragement is dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is ingratitude for the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity regarding strength for tomorrow. It is unawareness of the presence of beauty, unconcern for the needs of our fellowman, and unbelief in the promises of old. It is impatience with time, immaturity of thought, and impoliteness to God.
God placed before Jeremiah a great and grand vision of what was going to be, and the Lord promised that it would all come to pass. The Lord will hasten to do in our lives all that He has promised. When is the time to start believing that wonderful truth?
How about right now? Trust the Lord, receive the salvation He offers, and claim the assurance of His presence. Move forward, not in fear, but in faith.
