Whatever God Says

These people seemed to be honest and to have pure motives. Here were the “commanders of the forces…and all the people from the least to the greatest.” Facing serious needs, they genuinely seemed to want to hear from God. Jeremiah promised that he would pray and declare “whatever the Lord answers…I will keep nothing back” (vs. 1-4 ESV).

But his message was not what the people expected. In fact, they already had planned to go to Egypt, and clearly thought that God just would endorse their plans. But Jeremiah told them that God wanted them to stay and not go to Egypt. In spite of what they had promised, they rejected these words, concluding that Jeremiah’s message could not possibly have come from God. He told them that they had “only deceived themselves.”

Many people are just like those ancient Israelites! They say that they want God’s will, but actually they just want Him to endorse their plans. They fail to realize that serving God means yielding our will and submitting everything in our lives to Him.

Truly, God wants to bring us to new levels of understanding, blessing, and experience. But we need to realize that everything begins with Him. We need to submit everything to Him: every plan, every thought and idea, every desire, every conclusion.

Today, don’t just ask God to endorse your plans. Make your life a living sacrifice, acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1). Ask Him to reveal His plans, and be ready to obey. Be open and pliable, ready to follow wherever He leads. Let Him guide and direct you.