Transformed – teen devotion – February 2, 2025

One key truth: Does lack of popularity bother you? God doesn’t just tell us not to be afraid; God gives us reason not to be afraid: God will be with us always.

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.”
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
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.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1:4-10

Popularity is Not Proof of Success

Imagine being called to serve as the Lord’s prophet—God’s direct mouthpiece—at just 13 years old. That’d be pretty intimidating, wouldn’t it? Jeremiah didn’t have to imagine.

We’re told Jeremiah was a young man when God called him to be prophet—some even suggesting he was as young as 13. And over the next four decades, he’d see quite a bit. Jeremiah would watch the nation of Judah spiritually and morally waste away. God and his Word had effectively been kicked to the curb. Despite God’s warnings and emotional pleas that the people turn from their spiritual unbelief and lives of wickedness and turn back to him, the majority of Judah’s inhabitants wouldn’t. As a result, God raised up the nation of Babylon to be an instrument of judgment against Judah. Jeremiah would watch the very temple that was rededicated at the beginning of his ministry be reduced to rubble by the end.

Jeremiah had no idea what was in store for him the day God called him to be his prophet—but God did. From the singular moment his existence began at conception to the day his time on this earth would end, Jeremiah’s entire biography laid before God’s all-knowing eyes. He knew the message he had commissioned Jeremiah to speak wouldn’t win him widespread popularity with the people—quite the opposite! God knew that Jeremiah would be hated, insulted, slandered, beaten, imprisoned, thrown into a cistern, and nearly starved to death—all for speaking the truth of God’s Word. But Jeremiah had no idea—and in a relatable way, neither do we.

You, like Jeremiah, have been called by God to bring his Word, both his law and his gospel, to others. And we’ll hastily respond just like Jeremiah, don’t we? “Lord, I don’t know the Bible well enough.” “I’m not sociable enough.” “I’m not patient enough.” “I’m not brave enough.” Do you see the problem here? The issue here isn’t a failure to cite our inexperience, our weakness, and our sinfulness as limitations; the issue here is us imposing our limitations on God and his Word.

But Jeremiah was right about one thing: it wouldn’t be his words that would win the day. The words Jeremiah would speak weren’t his—but God’s. God’s Word is what plants and uproots. God’s Word is what tears down and rebuilds. And that’s comforting, isn’t it? It takes all the pressure off! Your job is to put the Word of God in motion; God does all the rest. But that’s not the only comfort and encouragement we find in this story. You see, if God is the one who calls you, then he will equip you for the job! If God has given you his word to speak, he will help you speak it! But that’s not all your God promises you. God says to Jeremiah, “Don’t be afraid . . . I will be with you and I will deliver you.”

Your Christian faith may (and likely will) come at a cost to your popularity with certain people. But that lack of popularity isn’t proof of your failure as a child of God. If that were the case, what would we make of the life of Jesus? Jesus would not only faithfully share the gospel under persecution for us, but he would die for us; he bore for the world the wrath of God on the cross so we would be delivered. When our guilt and shame had rendered us unqualified to stand before a holy God, God would qualify us through his Son. Jesus became our sin, so we would become his righteousness.

And if, in Christ, we already stand confident before God, we can stand confidently before anyone, can’t we? When the hands that were nailed to a cross for you are the same hands that uphold you and sustain you, you don’t need to be afraid. So, dear Christian, when your popularity takes a hit for your hope in Jesus, do not be afraid. Not even death can separate you from the love of God you have in Jesus. No one can take away what your Savior has won for you. He will be with you always.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, while we were still sinners, you died for us. When we had nothing to give you, you—through your death and resurrection—have given us everything: forgiveness, new life, and eternity with you in paradise. This hope we have in you is a living hope—because you have risen from the grave. May this living hope we have in you comfort us when we lose popularity for your sake. For nothing lost for your sake is truly lost. In your name we pray. Amen.