Jeremiah, What Seest Thou? • Deshen Daily

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. (Jeremiah 1:11 KJV)

When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, He began by training Jeremiah’s spiritual vision. As a prophet, Jeremiah would receive God’s words through his eyes and ears, so his spiritual eyes needed to be adequately trained.

The Lord asked Jeremiah, “what seest thou?”. To fully understand this question, we must understand the context of this experience. Jeremiah heard God’s voice announcing his call to be a prophet; he might have also seen an open vision of God. But as the Lord spoke to him, he made Jeremiah see a vision of an almond tree. So, when the Lord asked Jeremiah, “what seest thou?”, He was not trying to find out what Jeremiah saw because the vision came from Him.

Jeremiah’s answer to the Lord was, “I see a rod of an almond tree”. After he responds, the Lord says to him, “Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1:12 KJV). The Lord validated what Jeremiah saw in a prophetic vision. He essentially told Jeremiah, “your eyes are seeing correctly, so next time you see such visions, know they are from Me!” So, Jeremiah was not only called and ordained, but he received a prophetic crash course on visions from God.

Seeing spiritually is essential, but even more important is knowing that what you are seeing is from the Lord. The Lord will train our eyes and ears to receive His Word so that we can discern His voice amidst the noise.

Meditate

How was young prophet Samuel trained in ascertaining the voice of God? (1 Samuel 3:9-10).

Apply the Word

What do you see— dreams, visions, revelations, thoughts? Not every vision comes from God. As we grow and mature, we should train our senses to see and discern what the Lord is showing us.