Jeremiah 21:2 “Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
King Zedekiah wanted Jeremiah to go to God on behalf of his people, hoping for a miracle. The problem with this was that the king wanted to be delivered… to be rescued by God out of the troubles facing him and his people – the people of Judah – without changing the behavior that had removed them from God’s protection to begin with. God’s response? In no uncertain terms, NO! God told Jeremiah to reveal to Zedekiah that not only would He not be helping them out of this turmoil, but would actually be fighting against them, showing favor to their Babylonian attackers as they advanced on Judah.
Jeremiah 21:5 “I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath.”
What had the people of Judah done that was so terrible to have angered God in this way? The biggest issue was idolatry. In their times of trouble, they had not turned to God – they had, instead, turned to God-substitutes. When you are troubled, do you turn to God? Or do you turn to God-substitutes and end up trusting in money, people, or other worldly/tangible factors to make you feel secure? Have you begun feeling as though God has been answering NO to your prayers? Have you begun to feel as though God is fighting against you instead of showing you favor?
Perhaps, like Zedekiah and the people of Judah, you have been hoping for a miracle from God without seeking His face… Perhaps you have been expecting Him to rescue you while putting your trust in those who are able to give you an audible answer rather than trusting the promises God already made through His written Word. Don’t continue on this path. Change the behavior that removed God’s protection from you to begin with, then seek His face and ask for His deliverance.
God’s desire is not to allow harm to come to you. In fact, just the opposite – God’s desire is to bless you, to cause you to prosper, and to lift you up for His glory. Many times, the things you go through are simply methods of weeding people out of your life so that you can focus on God and build your trust in Him – often, in order to do that He must strip the trust you have in people by letting you see how miserably they will fail you and let you down.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 “For I know the plans I have for you [...] plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you [...] and will bring you back from captivity.”
Don’t allow yourself to be destroyed by your own ways. Evaluate where your trust truly lies and if your faith is not solely in God, begin breaking the binds the world has placed on your heart; begin to recondition your mind and your spirit to focus on the strength that comes from the Lord; rejoice in the trials that cause you to look to Him as your help.
God never wants to tell you, “No.” You are His child – He wants you to delight in Him so that He may give you the desires of your heart! {Psalm 37:4} God wants to open the floodgates of Heaven and send blessings into your life in such abundance that you won’t even know what to do with them! {Malachi 3:10} It is up to you to accept the offer of abundance in life… what are your actions and motives telling God? When our children seem to be stubbornly rejecting our guidance and authority, the best thing we can do is to allow them to fall so that they are able to learn to appreciate our protective role in their lives. God is doing the same with us!
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