Attack…flee…plunder…disgraced…capture…silenced…destruction….destroy…broken…
““Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,”” declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 49:39 NIV
I am sitting on my front porch in the cool of the morning. The sun is filtering through the trees and I hear the steady traffic on the main road. There is a slight breeze and leaves are gently falling to the ground. It’s a slow morning with nothing that HAS to be done right now. I feel relaxed. And then I read the words of God recorded by Jeremiah and it’s like a shock through my system.
How can the God who loved the world so much that He died for her, call for such violence and destruction? That is not the God I know…but…that is a part of the God that I choose to love and follow.
What became a little clearer to me today is the importance of obedience. I know…we hate that word! Especially as adults who have found their independence. But God knows! He created us! He knows what we need, how we will find what our hearts ultimately long for, and how to live in such an angry and sad world. He knows! Not me! I don’t know. I struggle every day with what seems to be insurmountable in my life and in the world.
What do I do? What do we do?
We practice obedience. Not for others but because we believe that God truly knows. That’s what Jeremiah did. He couldn’t have been the first choice on anyone’s party list. The words he recorded from God were not going to make him popular. But he was obedient. And it was hard.
What is God calling me to be obedient about today? What is he calling you? What is one step we can make today? Remember that it’s because of our relationship with God that we obey. We don’t obey to gain it.
Dear God, obedience is hard! You know that, you have lived that, and you call us to obey not in order to be in relationship with you but because you are GOD and you know! You know best what we need and how to walk this hard path of life. God help us in our disobedience. Turn our hearts away from the false peace and towards your fulfilling love. Amen
Mandy (mkaybaldwin)
Sixty-six books in a year 