“The word of the Lord came to me,, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
(Jeremiah 1:5 NIV).
These were the very words that Jeremiah heard God say to him. Can we even imagine? And these are the very words that each of us, as we listen attentively, will hear the Father say to us, “I knew you. I have set you apart. I have appointed a task, a position just for you.”
But what does that mean?
He formed you.
The word formed is used to create the image of a potter & clay. He fashions it, creates it with a particular & specific purpose in mind. Since He has a specific purpose in mind for each one of us, He creates us with specific talents to fulfill those very purposes. He forms us & equips us. This is why each of us is living in the time frame & in the very place that we find ourselves. We are….
living in the town,
working in the job,
married to the person,
attending that church,
raising those children,
participating in a particular ministry,
in that small group,
not by accident but by His design. You are the only one that can do what you do. You are the ONLY YOU this world has got.
He set you apart.
God has, in essence, reserved each of us for this time for His purposes. None of us are an accident. He has decided that our life is to be used for Him. That makes each of us unique by design. He has decided that with our shortcomings & all, our life will be treated as extraordinary. The forming & setting apart both occur for specific tasks that He ordained for us to do.
He has appointed us.
This means that He has placed us to achieve something specifically in & through our lives.
We can think of being formed, set apart & appointed like we would tend for flowers. Recently, I was made the chief caretaker for imported, exotic flowers from Hawaii for a grand opening event. These flowers were beautiful & expensive & stressed me out. I had to care for them & keep them alive for four days until they could be presented at the event. I had to meet certain criteria to keep them alive – stems trimmed, the right temperature water, warm room temps, no drafts. All so they could achieve the goal of being at the event.
In that very same way, God has “planted” you. Life around you is divinely designed with the right conditions that will grow you & use you to your maximum potential for His glory.
Don’t miss it. Bloom where He has planted you.
Your life: formed. set apart. appointed.
