August 29

All too often when we come to the Lord seeking His will, we already have our mind made up as to what we want Him to do. But, in order to be like Jesus, we will often times close our prayers with the words, “yet I want your will, not mine” (Luke 22:42). That is not to imply we pray with this mind set every time, but it is to suggest that we have probably all been guilty of being a little self-seeking in our prayers from time to time. It’s as though what we are really saying to God is, “tell me what your will is, but here’s what I want you to tell me.” What we are really asking, is that God bless what we’ve already decided.
After the Babylonians had conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and deported many of the Jews to other lands; a large number of the few who remained in Judah, approached the prophet, Jeremiah, with this request: “Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you know, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. Beg the Lord your God to show us what to do and where to go......May the Lord your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever He tells us to do! Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we send you with our plea.” (Jeremiah 42:1-3,5&6). Unfortunately, they had already decided they would be safe by fleeing to Egypt and seeking asylum in that country. But, God’s answer to their request was to remain in Judah. God promised to grant them favor with the king of Babylon if they did so (42:11&12).
But, as God predicted (42:13-22), they refused to obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah and decided to do what they wanted to do anyway, seek refuge in Egypt (43:1-7). What it came down to then, and what it still comes down to today, is an arrogant and stubborn pride to be one’s own ruler. “We will not listen to your messages from the Lord! We will do whatever we want” (44:16&17)! God predicted, “when I have ruined the land because of their disgusting sins, then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 33:29).
What seems the right thing for us to do, may not always be the right thing to do. Our ways lead to ruin and death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). God’s ways lead to life. He may not do things the way we want Him to. But, God always knows what He’s doing (Isaiah 55:8&9). Our role is to simply decide whether we will trust Him (Proverbs 3:5&6), or whether we will insist on our own ways. The choice is ours, and so is the consequence that goes with it. Choose wisely!