Trust

Even the remnant was disobedient (Jer. 42-43). After Israel had consistently disobeyed the things the Lord had told them through Jeremiah and after they had been utterly destroyed by Babylon, even the few that were left still refused to obey the Lord. Even after Jeremiah had been repeatedly proved correct in his revelation of what God would do next, they still would not listen. God offered them a chance for life and a future, but because of their hard hearts, they were destroyed.

I wonder why. I guess they probably felt like they were making the best choices given the situation they were in. It made more sense to go and take refuge in Egypt rather than to attempt to live defenselessly amidst the rubble of Jerusalem. In fact, staying in Jerusalem would have been simply ludicrous and would have meant certain death by any form of human reckoning. But God’s ways don’t always make sense.

I think there’s a tension between the New Testament paradigm of “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us” and simply doing what we think is best. Much of the time, I simply do what I think is best in a given situation and trust that the Holy Spirit will let me know if there’s a better way. I think the key, though, is the “us”. Without seeking the Lord together in community, the affirmation of the Holy Spirit is a lot harder to discern. It’s pretty easy to do the things that I want to do and since they seem good, assume the Holy Spirit’s approval as well. The men of Israel probably didn’t intend to disobey God. They just thought God was leading them somewhere different than he actually was.

I think the lesson here is…Slow Down! Don’t rush things. Make sure that God is where you’re at. And if he moves, make sure you’re paying enough attention to actually notice. With all of the big changes and tasks ahead, I feel pretty overwhelmed. I feel so incapable of doing what needs to be done. I feel clear about the end result, but the steps to get there are so murky. It’s like driving blindly through a fog. I know there’s sunlight on the other end because it’s leaking through a little bit, but how do I know the road isn’t going to curve? How do I know there’s not another car coming? Or a person walking across the road in front of me?

That’s the place of trust…believing that Jesus cares enough to sit beside me through the maze of choices and responsibilities and get me to the end of the road.