The book of Jeremiah begins with Jeremiah’s reasons why he was unsuited for prophetic ministry. He was just a young man. He felt unwise in the ways of the world and also unable to speak eloquently to the kings, priests, and rulers to whom God would send him. How many of us have felt this way in the first weeks of a new job, when we do not yet know all our co-workers or how things are done in this new setting?

But God will have none of Jeremiah’s protestations. Pointedly, God does not say that Jeremiah is qualified, skilled, or mature. Instead, God simply informs Jeremiah not to dwell on his lack of experience, but to acknowledge that Jeremiah will go everywhere and say everything that God intends.

Friends, not many of us are called to prophetic ministries like Jeremiah. And yet, God does have words for us to say, places for us to go, and deeds of loving-kindness for us to fulfill. To focus on our own shortcomings and uneasiness is to miss the invitation to a journey with the One who knew us before we were born and prepared righteousness for us to fulfill—if we will but begin the journey.

The writer of the letter to the Ephesians was no doubt familiar with Jeremiah and other prophets like him who were not sure of God’s call and what answering that call meant for their lives. In Ephesians 2:10, he writes, “We are what [God] has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”