When God Says

There’s a phrase that shows up in our minds more often than we realize:

I’m only…

’m only one person.
I’m only a parent trying to hold my family together.
I’m only too young… or too old… or too busy.
I’m only someone with a lot of doubts.

We all have our “I’m only” moments—those times we quietly decide we’re not qualified, not ready, or not enough to do what’s in front of us.

This Sunday’s scripture readings introduce us to two people who might have agreed with that feeling: a young Jeremiah who insists he’s too inexperienced to be called by God, and a woman who’s been bent over for eighteen years—likely told by others, and maybe by herself, that her best days were behind her.

But in both stories, God’s response is the same: limitations don’t get the last word.

Sometimes the things that hold us back are real challenges. Sometimes they’re excuses that feel safer than risking something new. But either way, the God who calls, the Christ who frees, and the Spirit who sends us is not deterred by our lists of reasons why we “can’t.”

This week, I invite you to start listening for the “I’m only” statements in your own life. And when you hear them—pause and remember—those aren’t the words God uses about you.

On Sunday, we’ll dig deeper into what it means to live as people who are both called and set free—and what that can look like not just for our church’s ministry, but for your everyday life.