Jeremiah 1:7-8, New International Version

“But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.”

“You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.” It appears this is a simple direction from the Lord. How is it that we can make such a simple and straightforward statement so complicated? Yet that is one of the things that we as humans in this world seem to be very good at. Every single one of us has been created for a purpose and has a specific calling upon our lives. All we need to do is to seek His direction and then follow the instruction that we receive. The world, however, does not make it so simple. It uses its own standards and requirements to determine if a person is qualified or worthy to perform a task or take on a responsibility.

In order to be able to speak in many churches a person must be able to prove that they have been trained in a seminary and as a result been ordained by someone else. Also, many times they would be required to show their experience and demonstrate that they have “successfully” performed the work of preaching and teaching before. If a person has not been formally trained and also does not have references which can prove that they have performed the tasks required, then they are written off as being unqualified. The reality is that, if we were to apply these standards to the vast majority of individuals we read about in the Bible, then we would come to the conclusion that they were no qualified to be in the positions that they were placed in and should be ignored.

I don’t believe that any person would have looked at David when he asked to go out and face Goliath and felt that he should. He was too young, he was inexperienced, and he didn’t know how to go to war. Yet, none of the trained and skilled warriors were able to go out to face Goliath, much less defeat him. We are so quick to look upon the appearance and judge based on the worldly standards rather than simply seeking the will of the Father and doing what He has asked. Has God called you to preach? Has God called you to work with children? Has God called you to help married couples and families? Whatever the Lord has called you to do—I tell you today, simply obey Him. The single qualification that is needed to get started was already given to you when you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior—the Holy Spirit.