Word power

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."Jeremiah 1:9-11

The young man Jeremiah had just been ordained by God into the ministry of a prophet. God put His words in Jeremiah's mouth and then made an astonishing proclamation: Jeremiah had received from God authority and power to effect change, and he had been given authority and power over nations and over kingdoms!

Reading the chapters which follow, we will see that he was opposed, he was even imprisoned and at one point left to die in a dungeon. As we follow Jeremiah's ministry, it is clear that the Lord wasn't telling him that he had been promoted to a place of political power. As a matter of fact, it was only God's words in this young man's mouth that amounted to the great authority and power he possessed. God's invisible words would most surely go to work "to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." The spiritual authority and power of God's invisible words would bring about God's will according to the prophecies Jeremiah would be given to proclaim.

In our hearts and lives, there are things that we all need to have plucked up, broken down, destroyed, overthrown, as well as things that need to be built and planted. These will only be accomplished by the word of God. We should speak the word of God to encourage ourselves, proclaim the word of God about our circumstances, and pray using the language of the Scriptures. Above all, the word of God must be stored up in our hearts and diligently obeyed. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.