"Au Contraire!"

"Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, in order that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God."
(Jeremiah 42:6)

Be careful what you wish for - 'cuz you just might get it! We're back in Jeremiah today... and the Babylonian army is advancing on Judah. The people are scared. They ask Jeremiah, God's prophet, to inquire of the LORD for them. "We'll do whatever God says we should do!" they profess. (Sure you will.) Jeremiah prays... and 10 days later receives the answer: "Stay here! Don't flee to Egypt. Don't be afraid of the king of Babylon. I'll be with you," says the Lord. When Jeremiah told the people, however... they were SHOCKED! "No way! God didn't tell you that!" they exclaimed. "You're lying!" They ignored Jeremiah's message, and fled to Egypt.

Reading the story, it's easy to be judgmental. "How could they not trust God & Jeremiah?! What a bunch of hypocrites!" And yet, are we any different (am I any different)? We want God's direction and guidance... but too often we come with a preconceived notion of what that direction will be! Can we trust the LORD enough when God just might be calling us to do something we NEVER expected? (The challenge, of course, is making sure we hear from God, and it's not just our own desires/projections!).

PRAYER: I wnat to be faithful to You, Lord, no matter what the message may be. Keep my heart open and my feet ready to respond. AMEN.