just as stubborn

November 4, 2009

When I read through the Old Testament, I'm often intrigued by how stubborn/ridiculous the Israelites seemed to be. For instance, in Jeremiah, after the people had been taken off to Babylon, the remnant are left kind of stranded. So they go to Jeremiah, to ask him to inquire of God & they said

5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. 6Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.” (jeremiah 42)

&Jeremiah goes and prays for them. & Jeremiah tells them that God said to stay in the land, and not go to Egypt. And he warns them that if they do decide to go to Egypt, famine, the sword, and plague will certainly follow them there. And they will all die there. BUT, if they follow & trust in God, and stay in the land, they will flourish & God will provide for them.

&guess what they do!

yup, they go off to Egypt, because they felt that Jeremiah just wanted them to die at the hands of the babylonians. go figure.

Be sure of this: I warn you today 20that you made a fatal mistake^b when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ 21I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you.22So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”

I mean, they had ALL the warnings they needed. They asked for God's word, and Jeremiah gave it to them, and still, they didn't believe. Every single time I've read that passage, I've thought to myself "MAN, why can't the Israelites just obey? Can't they see that God is planning for their GOOD?"

But God has humbled me, most definitely. I am just like those Israelites. And it's so hard coming to that realization. I definitely understand when Jeremiah said "you made a fatal mistake." It wasn't a mistake to go to God and seek out His will, but it's a mistake to feign a desire to follow His will when all you're really hoping for is that His will will align with your own. It's fatal because so very often, our imperfect selfish wills are not aligned with God's, and then the struggle begins. The obvious route is to follow God right? But the old self is so strong along with its own plans, desires &wants.

I feel like I'm in that position right now. I go to God; I want His will, His plan, &His desires for my life. I get answers, &it's nothing that I've expected. It's just like what I gained from the Acts passage over the weekend at Fall Con. Personally, I feel that Paul was God's pick to take the place of Judas. But when the other disciples gave God two options & drew lots, it's not like, Paul could miraculously appear in the drawing. So I've learned to not limit God to just what our options are, but that there is always another answer &God continues to surprise & baffle me.

And now, with the answers I sought for, I feel like those Israelites. The old self is so strong within me. It's a struggle to really lay my will down at the cross. To really trust that God's will is best. To really obey, as hard as it may be. To be holy in everything I do; to not cut boundaries; to not take short-cuts; to not be selfish. But to treat others and myself like the precious chosen people we are.

It's so.. obvious that God's will is best though. The promises He gives never fails us &we can always hope in those promises as well as His love &grace. And yet, our human nature makes us doubt so easily when the answer is so obvious. I guess it just makes me realize how far I am from really being dead to myself & alive to Christ. How far I am from having Christ living through me, and not trying to take this life back for my own use. SIGH!

It's like sophomore year of high school all over again! Except this time, I hope/am determined to follow God's will wholeheartedly and correctly.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

now to really believe & act upon that!