"Steps to Following"

"Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do." Jeremiah 42:3 (NIV)

Growing up is not always easy. As a child we tend to reject the discipline and guidance (at least some of it!) from our parents and often think about the day we can 'be on our own and do as we please.' We picture a life of no bosses and never doing anything we don't want to do. Well, when we do grow up we also realize life is just not that simple. We come to grips with the fact that obligations, duties, making a living and other sometimes "less than fun" stuff occupies our time! Welcome to adulthood. Likewise, we must grow up in our relationship with God. Have we matured in our walk with the Lord?

This passage recalls a turbulent time in the lives of the children of Israel. Hurting and scared they turned to the prophet Jeremiah for help in seeking direction from God. They seemed to realize their strength was gone and they sought help from Almighty God. Take a look at some key points in this lesson:

(Editors Note: Notice point number three below, it reflects the actual reason that they came to the prophet. cs)

• * The people asked Jeremiah to pray to his God for them! Note the scripture says, "Pray that the Lord your God will..." That is, the people did not claim God for their own but rather asked Jeremiah to pray to his God for help! We can never achieve anything in Jesus Christ unless we have a relationship with Him. We must accept the fact that building this all-important relationship with Jesus must take priority. How very different is the attitude when we ask someone to "pray to our God" for help in this or that matter. Then we become an intercessory team.
• * Their request for help came from desperation not belief. They simply were turning to God for they found themselves with no other place to turn. Likewise, we must make seeking guidance from God a first priority rather than a desperate 'last ditch' effort to get out of some trouble or problem. We must get away from the idea, "Well, all we can do is pray." Prayer and relationship building must take priority in our life or we will wake up one day and realize we are distant from our Lord. And remember Jesus has not moved away!
• * Their request was not really for God to guide them but rather for God to agree with their own thinking! We can likewise fall into this very trap. We can begin to pray and ask God for our will to be His will! It must be the reverse. We pray that God's will take center stage in our life and that our will conform. These army officers (see 42:1) obviously did not ask with an open mind. In chapter 43 we find Jeremiah giving these officers the Lord's answer and they flatly reject this revelation from God. You see, when we ask for guidance and direction from God and He provides us with an answer we then must listen with our feet not necessarily with our thoughts. These army officers did not hear what they wanted to hear and therefore rejected Jeremiah and in fact called him a liar (see 43:2).

Jeremiah warned these army officers that he would only give them the answer God instructed. Jeremiah knew their hard hearts and their tendencies to reject God. He knew they would not listen unless they heard what they wanted to hear. This example of 'selective hearing' is still common today - even in the Church. We can easily fall into the devil's trap of developing our own thinking about something and then going to God's Word in an effort to find support for our thinking! This leads to frustration and doubt because the end result is far removed from the will of God.

We may never (this side of heaven) fully understand the will of God in our life, but some attitudes can go a long way toward that goal:

• * Seek God first and foremost in every area of our life. He is there ready and willing to listen and guide. No problem or thought is too small for our Lord. He promises to be there for us and He never breaks His promises.
• * Removing self-will is a process not an event. We may indeed have to endure a bit of a training course along life's peaks and valleys. However, we must always remember that our Lord is the Great Shepherd and that we are His sheep. Sheep have very little self-will as they are completely dependent on their shepherd.
• * Be prepared to listen to God's answer. Most Christians have learned to pray - at least to some extent. However, have you learned to listen? Perhaps the latter requires more skill? It is generally easier to talk than to listen. It is easier for me to write this devotional than to live it in my life. However, we must strive to open our ears to God's leading and to His answers. They may be radically different from our pre-conceived ideas of our best path.

Lastly, please understand and live a very important difference from Jeremiah's day and our life in Christ. In the Old Testament era the people would go to a prophet or priest to seek God's guidance. When Jesus died on that cross he paved a golden path directly to the throne of God. This means we can approach the throne of God directly because Jesus always lives to intercede for us to the Father! Praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing. Right now, without delay we can always seek God directly -- a very precious blessing reserved for His children. May God continue to bless your study of His Word.

by Gary Stone

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