We all have excuses for why we aren't capable or willing to do what we probably know down deep in our hearts is our responsibility or obligation.  It's true in the workplace, in family life, in school, and amid relationships with neighbors, spouses, and friends.

The prophet Jeremiah wasn't immune to using an excuse here or there in order to fend off the call of God.  And yet, God makes a powerful case for Jeremiah's prophetic role.  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you," God says, "and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."  It's as if God wasn't going to let Jeremiah claim he had been mistaken for another would-be prophet. 

We use excuses, too, for saying "no" to God.  We don't believe we're worthy or equipped for the task at hand, we don't feel it's our role to do what God is summoning us to do, or we feel that, inevitably, somebody else will do the job.  When we are tempted to offer up yet another reason for resisting God's call, we can be comforted by the reality that God will not abandon us to our own devices when we do answer affirmatively. 

When God called Jeremiah, God promised him that he wouldn't be alone.  "Don't be afraid," God said, "for I am with you to deliver you." Nor does God send us out all alone with the task of speaking, teaching, and caring.  As Jesus said, "Remember, I am with you always even to the end of the age." 

Based upon Jeremiah 1:4-10