Deliverance and Dreams
“Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I chose you. Before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
In reading that verse you get a glimpse of the atmosphere when walking into The Victory Healthy Mom and Baby Clinic. When you walk in encouraging verses and quotes are painted on the walls in every room, Jeremiah 1:5 in a slightly different translation is one of them. Here at the baby clinic I’ve come to know more about the depth of this verse than ever before.
I found it so easy to just apply this verse to Jeremiah when God appointed him at that time to be a prophet, but it’s deeper than that, it also applies to us. He chose us from the time BEFORE we were even in our mother’s womb.
Each mother that comes in reads this, it’s personal, to feel chosen is one of the best feelings of belonging. So at my own whim while I was holding babies and filing papers I decided to insert my name in the scripture, and that’s when it hit me he chose me and it also really hit me sometimes I rest too easily in that truth.
I can stop at the comfortable truth “he chose me”, but if I stop there, I set myself up to wander aimlessly. So if I read farther, I can realize because I am chosen he has a purpose to fulfill in and through me.
It reminds me of playing on a team. You made the team BEFORE there were even tryouts! You know you were chosen and that feeling makes you want to jump over the moon. You were wanted, you’re so excited! It’s the first game of the season, positions were given out, but you weren’t called (I’ve been there before and it’s honestly the worst feeling). Luckily, on God’s team he doesn’t believe in tryouts or benching. On His team everyone is chosen and not just chosen, everyone has a position. God has a dream position for you.
God’s dreams for Jeremiah was to appoint him to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah received his calling then went on in his ministry prophesying as God delivered him the words.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” 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.
-Jeremiah 1:8-9
This is what God has been teaching me about deliverance and dreams. He trusts us with His dreams, His dreams become our dreams. They’re in our hearts and he wants those dreams to come alive in all of us. At the clinic many pregnant mothers come in awaiting to birth their miracle. Likewise, in all of us we’re in a process, that can be hardly rushed, to carry a dream and deliver it.
He chose us AND he has entrusted us to carry His dreams, he’s saturating us with them if we choose to receive it. And when we receive it He will deliver. He wants us to know we were chosen by his grace, an important truth to write on our hearts and so it’s easy to stop there, but more than anything he wants to deliver us. He’s already delivered us from our sin and brokenness and he wants to raise us up and deliver his purposes through us.
When we believe and hear God’s words, “I chose you” we know it’s because of his unconditional love, but for a purpose, and regardless of how equipped we feel or how unimportant it seems or how hard it can be or how impatient we get about the process we can always know he will be our deliverance. His dreams for us are beautiful, unlike anything of this world, so much sweeter.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
-Jeremiah 29:11-13
The Victory Healthy Mom and Baby Clinic (HMBC) is a non-profit outreach that we partnered with in early January. They provide resources such as prenatal and postnatal care, crisis pregnancies, teen pregnancy, counseling, growth and development monitoring, primary health care, vaccinations, mobile health care around the community, and HIV/AIDS education and counseling. I am so thankful to have had this experience on the race. They are genuine women of Christ that meet the moms where they are at and pursue all of their patients and volunteers with love and compassion. To think this clinic was once a dream…
“There’s something beautiful about being around people who are constantly dreaming” -A quote that’s not mine
//Sadly, I couldn’t get any pictures with the babies, so my best pictures while I was at the clinic was with Clara & Patricia- the two that always made me laugh//
