"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5
This Bible verse is where God called Jeremiah to become a prophet. Jeremiah was reluctant and unsure of his abilities. With these words, the Lord assured Jeremiah that he knew more than he knew himself.
First
"I formed you in the womb." God reminded him that he made him. He knows all our physical strengths and limitations. He knows our abilities and weaknesses.
Second
"I knew you." Knew is past tense as if The Lord already knew him. God is not only All-knowing and All-present but All-aware. Our concept of knowing is something we consider the result of experience, and we think of the experience as history but God created time and is in time all the time. So he could know us by experiencing us before we are born.
Third
"I set you apart." God had a special and unique plan for him. He has a plan for each of us, and it is a plan set apart from the plan for each other person.
Fourth
"I appointed," God has a purpose for each of us. But more than a purpose it is a commission like holding an office in the government. An office granted by decree of the King of Kings.
Fifth
"Prophet to the nations," this was a bigger task than other prophets who were prophets only to Israel, Judea or a particular king. The Lord's plan for him was much bigger than he ever imagined. God's plans for each of us are grand if for no other reason than that they originate from the heart of the Almighty.
IT IS ABOUT GOD
"I" is used in the verse four times; all are statements of God's purposeful actions. No one of us is an accident; we each were individually designed by a loving God who has a plan for each of us.
God knew you before you were ever born. He knows what you are made of and he knows your design for him. He has a purpose that is special for you and that fits how you were made and who you are.
To learn more about how to know God see my other blog post.
