“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
The Face
God speaks this to Jeremiah before any accomplishment, before any choice Jeremiah himself had made, before, even, his own formation was complete. Before I formed thee, knew thee, sanctified thee, ordained thee, all four verbs placed before Jeremiah’s own birth, entirely outside anything Jeremiah himself had yet done.
This is worth holding as a needed corrective against identity built primarily on your own choices, achievements, or decisions, as if who you are was something you constructed yourself, from nothing, through sufficient effort. This verse locates the actual foundation earlier, in God’s own prior knowing and purpose, before you existed to choose anything.
Notice ordained thee a prophet unto the nations, a specific calling named alongside this prior knowing, suggesting identity and purpose are connected, not separate categories. Knowing who you are, according to this verse’s pattern, is tied to knowing what you were formed for, both located in this same prior, given reality.
Whatever sense of identity you are currently constructing through your own effort, return today to this earlier, given foundation. Before I formed thee, I knew thee. Whatever calling or purpose is genuinely yours flows from this same prior knowing, not from something you must first build entirely on your own.
Turn Your Face
- Notice any identity you have been constructing primarily through your own effort or achievement.
- Return today to the earlier, given foundation this verse describes, knowledge preceding your own choices.
- Consider what calling might flow from this same prior knowing, not from self-constructed effort.
Prayer
Lord, before you formed me, you knew me. Let my identity rest in this prior knowing, not in something I must construct entirely through my own effort and choice. Amen.
Carry this today
Identity rests on God’s prior knowing, not on self-constructed achievement.