God Appoints His Servant To Hard Tasks!

“The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’

Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the LORD said to me,

‘Do not say, “I am only a youth;”

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

declares the LORD.’

Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,

‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.’” [1]

God does not call His servant to perform easy tasks. Easy tasks allow us to go with the flow; hard tasks require us to go against the current. Easy tasks will be left to those who do not have the call of God resting on their life. Hard tasks will ensure that God receives the glory because fulfilling the assignment will require divine power. The LORD will appoint a broken man to confront the leader of the most powerful nation in the world to lead a nation out of bondage. And though Moses is reluctant to do what God orders, God will be glorified in this meek man. Pharaoh will know there is One Who is the True and Living God when Moses has completed his task.

God will appoint a timid man who is beating out grain in secret to confront a powerful enemy; and that timid man with only a small force will confront and defeat the powerful force. Though Gideon is fearful of the reaction of his neighbours, he will cut down the town’s sacred shrine and set in motion deliverance of the oppressed nation.

The LORD will seek out and appoint a shepherd who is watching his father’s sheep to lead his people into security from the nations around them. David was the youngest and the least of Jesse’s sons when the LORD chose Him and anointed him to the hard task of building a nation, giving the people security from their enemies.

He will raise up out of obscurity a prophet who will shut up the heavens and ensure that those leaden skies yield life-giving rains only at his word. And though Elijah seems at last broken by the weight of his charge, he will be remembered as one of the greatest prophets of the Living God. He will be compelled to stand alone when all others who are known to the LORD remain silent because they fear for their lives.

God will appoint a hesitant man to put on the mantle of a prophet in Israel, a man of God holding kings to account and revealing the mercies of the LORD far beyond the boundaries of the kingdom. He will call Elisha and equip him to stand before kings, and with boldness this man of God will face constant threats and unimaginable pressures to be silent, all because he dares speak the truth of the Lord GOD.

The LORD will call an unknown and humble man as he labours at his work as a “fig nipper,” and as a shepherd, appointing him to travel to a neighbouring kingdom where he will expose the perfidy of kings as they resist righteousness and where he will openly accuse religious leaders of their lese majesté to the Living God. Arising out of obscurity and drifting again into anonymity when his mission is complete, Amos will leave only the powerful prophecy given Him by the True and Living God.

The Risen Saviour will appoint a violent man focused only on promoting the religion in which he was raised and in which he was thoroughly trained until he humbly accepts the task of turning an empire upside down. That small, balding, hunch-backed man will spread the message of life throughout the civilised world. And Saul of Tarsus will drive the Roman Eagle from her nest to go screaming across leaden skies as the truth of Christ the Lord penetrates the dark miasma that had settled over all the land.

And in our text, we witness the LORD as He appoints a youth who isn’t eager to accept the weighty honour of serving God. Yet that youth, speaking on behalf of the Living God, will leave a legacy of compassion and courage to ever after inspire the people of God. You see, great men are not appointed to do the hard work of transforming the world—humble men, men of small note, are appointed by God to do His great tasks.