April 29, 2025 - Jeremiah 1:6 - "Ah, LORD God!"

Jeremiah 1:6

"Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child."

The prophet Jeremiah, newly confronted with the divine call upon his life, immediately responds not with eagerness and excitement, but with a confession of weakness and inability. How different was Jeremiah's response from that of many wannabe preachers that feel compelled to volunteer their services to God, and in their zeal feel as if they are fit to serve God, resting in their commitment, dedication, talent, and education.

When the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, however, it took the LORD to reassure him that in being called to the task by the LORD, the LORD was the One Who was not only calling him but would sustain him. The LORD told him, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5), Jeremiah’s first instinct was not to assert his qualifications but to acknowledge his utter insufficiency: "I cannot speak: for I am a child."

This moment of solemn exchange between God and Jeremiah illustrates how God's calling is not according to our natural ability, but according to His sovereign purpose and grace. Jeremiah was chosen, not because of any inherent strength, wisdom, or skill, but completely because of the LORD's eternal love and decree (Jeremiah 31:3). Before Jeremiah had spoken a word or taken a breath, he was already set apart by sovereign grace for his divine mission. Jeremiah’s sense of personal inadequacy is not weakness in the eyes of God; it is the very qualification for service. It is in the deep realization of our inability that God’s omnipotent ability is magnified, and the need for Christ's intercession is made manifest the most. As Paul later wrote, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" (2 Corinthians 3:5).

The context of Jeremiah 1 reveals that Judah was entering into dark days of judgment. Apostasy was rampant, idolatry was flourishing, and the hearts of the people were hardened. Jeremiah’s task would be humanly impossible — to tear down and to build up by the Word of the LORD (Jeremiah 1:10). No mere human eloquence or strength of will could accomplish such a mission. Only the Power of the LORD working through an emptied vessel would prevail. The apostle Paul declared: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Spiritually, Jeremiah’s confession — "I cannot speak" — echoes the confession of every soul who has been made alive by the Spirit of God. The regenerated heart recognizes that it has nothing to offer, nothing for which to boast, and certainly nothing with which to negotiate or barter with God. Every aspect of salvation and service is all by God's sovereign grace alone. Our mouths are stopped, and we confess, like Isaiah, "Woe is me! for I am undone" (Isaiah 6:5). Yet the LORD’s answer to Jeremiah is full of tender mercy: "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak" (Jeremiah 1:7). God does not deny Jeremiah’s weakness; rather, He promises His Presence and Power. "Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 1:8).

So it is with every believer. In ourselves, we can neither believe, nor repent, nor serve, nor endure. But Christ is made unto us "wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are “complete in him” (Colossians 2:10). Our sufficiency is entirely outside ourselves, resting solely in the finished work and abiding intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own. When we see ourselves rightly, as weak and helpless children, the Promise of God in, through, and by Christ alone, becomes exceedingly precious: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). The grace that called us is the same grace that upholds and preserves us unto the end.

Thus, Jeremiah’s trembling confession is the true beginning of the ministry to which God had called him. Weakness acknowledged is strength supplied. The apostle Paul wrote of this in 2 Corinthians 12:10: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." The same sovereign grace that foreknew and ordained Jeremiah, and any servant of God like the apostle Paul, is the grace that would sustain them through opposition, fire, rejection, sorrow, and suffering. Whenever any may question whether they are able, let us look to what the LORD Jesus Christ endured in the flesh to fulfill the will of His Father for the salvation of His people. The servant is not above the Master, and therefore He can save to the uttermost those that come to God by Him (Hebrews 7:25).

Let us, like Jeremiah, humbly confess: "Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak." And then let us hear the gracious reply: "I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 1:8). "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:6).