In Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 8 God tells Jeremiah the prophet to not be afraid of their faces and then in verse 17 He tells him not to be dismayed at their faces. In between those 2 instructions in verse 9 God gives Jeremiah the words to speak. I believe the reason that God sandwiched His words between admonitions to not be afraid or dismayed of their faces is that it is important to not be moved by how people look. If you are afraid of their faces you might be intimidated and then not speak God’s words but your own words. If we speak our own words and not God’s words then we will not see the fruit that we could have.

As I ministered at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois recently I needed to practice the instruction to not be afraid nor dismayed (more…)