No More Excuses

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." — Jeremiah 1:4-10

I love this passage. It's been really important to me for the past several years as I've discerned and explored my call to ministry. I recall spending a lot of time with these verses my freshman year of college and feeling like I too often tried to hide behind my age as an excuse not to realize my full potential.

I picked this Scripture for my morning reflection and prayer time today, and I had a disturbing thought: Jeremiah said "I am only a boy"—and I've said "I am only a girl"—but what happens when that is no longer true? If youth wasn't a valid excuse for dodging your calling, how much more must be expected of you once you don't have youth as a shield, if even a flimsy one?

Obviously, I'm not tottering with old age just yet. I'll be 22 in just over 2 weeks. But I'm not a child anymore. I have a college degree, I have a full-time job, I pay my own rent and buy my own groceries. When I reflected on Jeremiah's calling at age 18, I was completely dependent on my parents and didn't even have a work study job or anything. I was a child in worldly terms and in faith. Although I still often feel like an infant in my understanding of God, I am not a girl anymore.

God expected enormous things of Jeremiah even in his youth; how much more must be expected of us once we enter adulthood? Young age wasn't a valid excuse then; it seems there is nothing to hide behind now. I have been called by God to a specific vocation, and even if the details have not yet been revealed to me, I can't keep telling God to wait until I'm older or wiser or more prepared. It makes me think of the quote, "God does not call the equipped; he equips the called." I can't hide behind what I may perceive as a lack of skills or knowledge or equipment. I have to respond to God's call and know that he will provide whatever it is I need.