Being Set Apart...

Jeremiah 1:1-9 Key Verse: Jeremiah 1:4 – 5 “The word of the Lord came to me saying, 5. 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.”

How many of you have felt like you are different from everyone else around you? How many of you feel like no matter what you do you will always stand out? Maybe you were the kid people bullied for being “weird”. Or maybe you were the kid who dressed differently because you had a unique style and it seemed no one else understood. Well, this message is for you. Beyond having maybe some not-so-nice experiences growing up, a lot of you have known since your youth that you were made to be different. You may not fully understand why just yet, but I want to tell you that just like God told Jeremiah, “..before you were born I set you apart." he is telling you the same today.

See, God is a very intentional and strategic God, when he created you he designed a purpose for your life and when he knitted you together in your mother’s womb he chose to set you apart so that when he called you, you would answer and fulfill a very specific mission for Him. In order to get to who God is calling you to be, you have to be set apart which means you cannot do what everyone else is doing. You can’t say what everyone else is saying. You can’t wear what everyone else is wearing.

This is not because God wants to make you a social pariah but because if you were like everyone else you would not be able to fulfill the call he placed on YOUR life.

The call is very tailored to who you are called to be and if you and everyone else were the same, they too would be able to do what you were called to do, but God didn't call them he called you out from among the crowd so that YOU can fulfill the task. Also, because God knitted you together with a unique purpose your very DNA will become the host to your call. You can chose to answer or not. Can you imagine going through life feeling like you were meant to do more, but never do it? I can’t.

In the same way that you long to know why you were created, I pray you long to walk in what sets you apart, because what sets you apart will lead you right to the call God has on your life. For me, I struggled with being different. I wanted to fit in. I wanted everyone to like me, but I soon learned that not everyone will like you no matter how hard you try and we should focus more on what God says about us, not other humans. I have learned that being different was me operating in full capacity of who God called me to be. In other words, I was being 100% myself. Now, I am here to tell you that you must accept who you are. All of you. Answering the call on your life is not just for you it is for everyone that you're supposed to impact.

This may seem like a lot of pressure, but God didn’t make a mistake when he chose you. Matter of fact he knew you would be the right person for the job. It's interesting that in Jeremiah 1 that Jeremiah responds to God saying, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, “ I said, “ I do not know how to speak; I am too young” (verse 6). And God responds back reassuring Jeremiah that he is not too young, that HE (God) is with him and that he will rescue him (Jeremiah 7-8). This is interesting because just like Jeremiah a lot of us are giving God excuses of why we cannot do as he has called us to do. Instead of fully trusting God we look at ourselves and measure our own strengths in the situation but the good news is God is our strength and he is our protector. When God calls us to do something he provides us the strength to do so. We just have to walk in faith.

I hope this message calms some fears we may have, because God is a strategic God. If he has called you to go into battle he is not going to leave you on the front line exposed. He will equip you with all the right tools you need to fulfill the call on your life and even more he will be right there with you shielding you. I pray we let our faith be bigger than our fears that we let no one despise us because of our youth (1 Timothy 4:12). So, do not be upset that you have been set apart. Do not think you are not good enough. God chose you strategically and all you have to do is trust him. ​ God has great things in store for you…just make it to the other side of your fears and allow HIM to produce out of you the purpose he has placed on your life.

Sincerely, T'keyah