Lately I’ve been wrestling with a decision and desperately want the Lord to guide me. I (Hannah) keep wishing He would just write the answer on the wall, send a carrier pigeon, or raise up a prophet to tell me what to do. But those things haven’t happened, so each morning I sit down in my little rocking chair and pray for His guidance and wisdom.
A couple weeks ago in my chronological Bible reading plan, I came across an interesting story in Jeremiah that I just couldn’t get out of my head. It’s about the Israelites seeking the Lord’s guidance on a decision, and wouldn’t you know, God answers them loud and clear! But what surprised me was their response.
So, in this blog my goal is to unwrap the story from Jeremiah 42 and then talk about how to seek God’s guidance in decision-making. But more than that, I hope to point you to Christ who covers every good (and bad!) decision with His grace.
The year was 587 B.C.
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, had just successfully ransacked Jerusalem. He burned down the Lord’s temple and every other house in the city worth burning. The Babylonian soldiers either killed most of the people or took them as prisoners. However, Nebuchadnezzar left a remnant of Israelites in Judah. These people weren’t a threat to him, so he put them in charge of land and vineyards to keep his newly conquered territory from becoming a total waste.
King Nebuchadnezzar appointed a governor over the remnant of people left behind, but that governor was promptly assassinated. The Israelites were scared and didn’t know what to do. And here it is that we see a very interesting drama unfold.
Should they stay or should they go?
The scared Israelite remnant went to the prophet Jeremiah who had also been left in the city and asked him to inquire of the Lord on their behalf. They wanted to know if they should stay or go. Staying would mean a long, hard road of rebuilding. They were afraid of more Babylonian attacks, and Egypt was looking pretty peaceful and comfy from their vantage point.
Pause with me and consider something – the terrible king of Babylon has left this remnant of Israelites alive in their own land AND given them a means to live there. Amazing! But instead of reflecting on this provision, they let their fear consume them and begin contemplating a change of circumstances.
They said to Jeremiah, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant… that He may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do” (vs. 2-3).
This seems like a super spiritual prayer – they are seeking God’s will. But you see, they came to Jeremiah with a plan in their minds and they were just looking for affirmation. They wanted to flee Jerusalem and find refuge in Egypt. Egypt of all places! It’s ironic to me that they wanted to go back to the land where their ancestors had been enslaved for 400 years. This sounds familiar and foreboding.
They even went so far as to tell Jeremiah: “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord you God sends you to us. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God… that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord” (vs. 5-6).
They sound serious about obeying God.
But sadly, they’ve let their fear convince them of the path they should take.
They think God will affirm their plans to flee the Promised Land and make new lives in Egypt.
So, Jeremiah seeks the Lord for 10 days. When every second mattered in this very recently war-torn Jerusalem, the answer didn’t come quickly. Jeremiah had to wait on the Lord and continue praying for guidance day after day. Finally, he gathered the people, and this was his reply:
“Thus says the Lord… If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land.
But if you say, ‘we will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ then… the sword you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and there you shall die. All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them” (vs. 9-17).
Their surprising response
Wouldn’t it be nice if God spoke to us in this way – so clearly giving us the answer when we seek His guidance? But this isn’t what the people wanted to hear. Instead of taking the word of the Lord as truth and obeying as they had promised, the “insolent men” (vs. 43:2) accused Jeremiah of lying to them and said he was conspiring against them to hand them over to the Babylonians. And the people packed up their stuff, took Jeremiah with them, and left for Egypt.
Heartbreaking! They sought the Lord, He answered them clear as day, but they chose to do the opposite because they were afraid. They didn’t take God at His word. They didn’t trust Him. The real problem was deep down they didn’t know Him. He promised to be with them, to save them, and to have mercy on them even though they didn’t deserve it. But they didn’t believe, and they gave into their fear.
The Importance of Self-Reflection
At certain times in our lives, we face decisions. We come upon two roads diverging, as Robert Frost would say, and we need a word from the Lord. We don’t know which path to take, so we pray for wisdom. We pray for guidance and clarity. Often we don’t hear anything right away, so we keep praying.
During these times of prayer and waiting, what is our posture? Do we take the time for self-reflection and to understand our own hearts – have we already made up our minds? Are we open to whatever the Lord has for us, and I mean, whatever? Are we willing to obey if the answer isn’t what we are already leaning towards and hoping for?
It can be easy to deceive ourselves that the easy path, the path of least resistance, is the one God is calling us to. Oh heart, that we would trust Him! What a blessing he promises when we choose what He wants for us. Just as he held out these blessings to the Israelites if they stayed in Judah – blessings of mercy, peace, to be planted, to be built up, His protection, His very presence, His salvation – He holds out these promises to us.
But how do we know what He wants for us?
We don’t have a Jeremiah to call on the Lord for us and return with a clear word. In my own experience, I have seen God guide our family as we have followed this path:
- Continual & expectant prayer
- Wise counsel
- Becoming open to God’s leading
- Moving forward until God closes doors
- Accepting His answer with courage and trust
Continual & Expectant Prayer
When we’ve had a decision to make, I can look back through my prayer journal to see days and days of talking to God about the same situation. Some situations have spanned years, and I certainly can’t say I prayed every single day about that specific thing, but the bent of my heart was bringing it before the Lord and expecting an answer. I can’t remember where I heard this, but sometimes the purpose of prayer isn’t necessarily to receive a desired outcome, but rather to change the desire or the heart-attitude of the one praying. That can be hard to swallow, especially when I want something badly. But the truth of the matter is sometimes God is allowing a situation in my life to change and sanctify me, and the way in which He does that is through my continual coming to Him in prayer and humility, seeking His will over my own.
Sometimes the purpose of prayer isn’t necessarily to receive a desired outcome, but rather to change the desire or the heart-attitude of the one praying
As I pray, I expect an answer from a good and loving Father. His ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts, so I pray well-aware that the outcome of His will may not be the outcome I wanted. But I rest in the truth that His will for me is good and beautiful.
Wise Counsel
Over the years, we’ve been abundantly blessed by older, wiser people who have helped us process decisions and situations. The key to this is being able to let down your guard and give them an honest view of the situation so that they can provide objective counsel. These wisdom-bearers must be strong believers, committed to praying with you, and able to speak truth in love. We must be vulnerable, hear their counsel with open minds, and weigh it in light of Scripture and the guidance of the Spirit.
Becoming Open to God’s Leading
Sometimes I’ve approached a decision and already had my mind made up (exactly like the Israelites in Jeremiah 42). But, in order to seek the Lord’s will, I needed the Holy Spirit to open up my heart to accept whatever He had for me. For example, when God first started tugging on our hearts about foreign missions, there was no way in the world I was leaving my job. As the Spirit began to soften my heart towards the idea, I processed through a series of compromises with God. One of them went like this: “Okay, fine. I will go part time and work remotely from the mission field.” I’m happy to say the Spirit did His work on my heart rather quickly and helped me to become open to whatever God was leading us to, even if it meant leaving my job completely. Only the Spirit can do this work of opening our minds, but we can seek this posture by asking for it in prayer.
Moving Forward Until God Closes Doors
After we’ve prayed, sought counsel, and become open to His leading, the next step is often walking forward until a door is closed. Clay and I saw this with our journey towards becoming missionaries in El Salvador. In the early stages of feeling the call, we weren’t sure it was from the Lord. We wanted to stay within His will for us and didn’t want to chase a dream that was outside His will. We had a huge obstacle – we needed to raise what felt like an impossible amount of funds in order to move our family and begin the ministry. We kept moving forward praying, “Lord, here’s an easy way to shut down this whole thing. If you want us to go, please open these doors and provide the partnerships and funds.” He did it. Around every corner, every door swung open wide. There were so many opportunities for Him to turn us around, to bring us to a halt, to clearly reveal we were following the wrong path – but he never did that, so we kept on walking… all the way to El Salvador. Well, actually we flew. But you get it.
Accepting His Answer with Courage & Trust
Finally, the last and most important step is obedience. If we are fortunate enough to realize God is leading us in a certain direction, we must then actually walk that path – and it takes big courage. It would’ve been hard for the remnant in Jerusalem to accept God’s answer and stay. It would’ve meant sacrifice, unknowns, discomfort, and perseverance. But what he promised them far outweighed the difficulties; he promised them Himself. He promised them His very presence, protection, and peace. How often do we miss out on these blessings because we choose our own comfort and what we can reasonably and tangibly discern in our own minds?
So, to wrap up…
I’d like to encourage my own heart and yours – seek the Lord’s will, be open to His leading, and then courageously follow His path for you. Many times, what He’s calling us to goes against human wisdom and self-preservation. Are we ready to lay down our desires for the easy and comfortable way, and take up our cross and follow Him? He never promised our sidewalk would be straight and paved. But even amidst the crater-sized potholes and 90-degree switchbacks, we can trust His faithful presence.
Christ’s Finished Work Gives Us Hope
And as I sit here in my rocking chair praying for God’s guidance in my decisions, I am reminded of something a dear friend said to me – “Christ’s finished work on the cross gives us rest and peace.” In Jesus, we find grace and mercy for every wrong decision. He has all wisdom, but we are still fallen. We will fail miserably and mess everything up. But when our lives are hidden with Christ because of His sacrifice on the cross, His mercy covers our mistakes and sinful disobedience. He’s not done with us yet. In fact, it’s promised in Philippians 1:6 that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” When we belong to Him through faith, he will take all of our failures and work them into something good, something that makes us more like Him, something that brings Him glory.
When our lives are hidden with Christ because of His sacrifice on the cross, His mercy covers our mistakes and sinful disobedience.
The Israelites disobeyed God over and over again, while God poured out His mercy on them time and time again. The group that fled to Egypt in Jeremiah 42 paid a high price for their disobedience. Those who remained in Egypt died in Egypt – not because they disobeyed God but because they didn’t even have a relationship with Him. But instead of giving up on the Israelites, God brought a remnant out of exile in Persia back to Jerusalem. Amidst trouble, pain, and more disobedience, they rebuilt the temple, rebuilt the city, and rebuilt their lives.
And among that remnant of people who returned from captivity, there was a family from the line of David. And 450 years later, a baby was born into that family in Bethlehem, the city of David, who would be called Emmanuel, God with us. God never removed His presence from His chosen people despite their terrible decision-making. And as children of God, grafted into the family of God, He never removes His love and presence from us.