March 13
DESPISE NOT THY YOUTH
"Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a
child. But the Lord said unto me, 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" Jer. 1:6 , 7
Jeremiah was young and felt a natural shrinking when sent upon a
great errand by the Lord; but He who sent him would not have him say,
"I am a child." What he was in himself must not be mentioned, but lost
in the consideration that he was chosen to speak for God. He had not
to think out and invent a message, nor to choose an audience: he was
to speak what God commanded, and speak where God sent him, and this he
would be enabled to do in strength not his own.
Is it not so with some young preacher, or teacher who may read
these lines? God knows how young you are, and how slender are your
knowledge and experience; but if He chooses to send you, it is not for
you to shrink from the heavenly call. God will magnify Himself in your
feebleness. If you were as old as Methuselah, how much would your
years help you? If you were as wise as Solomon, you might be equally
as willful as he. Keep you to your message and it will be your wisdom;
follow your marching orders and they will be your discretion.