11 The word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an [b]almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [c]watching over My word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil [d]will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 I will [e]pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have [f]offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
There’s almost a contrast here between what God says to Jeremiah in v. 19 and what the angel said to Joshua so many years ago. Here God tells Jeremiah, “I am with you to deliver you.” Yet when Joshua asked the angel, “are you for us or for our enemies?” the angel basically said, “Neither, I’m here because I’m on God’s side, and here’s what God wants you to do.”
Or in other words, if you’re on God’s side, do what He asks, and He will take care of the results. So why was Jeremiah so special? Or was he really? Back up to verse 17, and God tells Jeremiah plainly, “Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them.” It’s effectively the same underlying idea, where God tells Jeremiah He has a plan for his life, and if Jeremiah will do what God asks, then God will be with Him.
Again, it isn’t so much that God would be with Jeremiah, but that Jeremiah would be with God because he was walking where God was leading. And so God made Jeremiah a “fortified city”, “a pillar of iron”, and walls of bronze” set against all the people of the land, the priests, princes, and even the king(s). Those are pretty overwhelming odds… in Jeremiah’s favor.
Like Jeremiah, God has a plan for your life too. Will we follow where He leads? Will we be on His side? Sometimes it seems a tall order, but the odds are stacked in your favor. As we read earlier, God knew exactly what He was doing when He created you, and He had a plan before you were even born. Take His hand and walk in His steps.