Day 12 | Monday, SeptEMBER 1
Written by Jana Howerton
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 your God sends you to us. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God.
Jeremiah 42:5-6
LORD, I'LL DO ANYTHING
Conversation with God isn’t meant to be one-sided. In addition to us speaking to God, God wants to speak to you. He wants to have an intimate relationship with you.
One way God speaks to us is through His Word. I love it when I am spending time in Scripture and something specific pierces my heart. It’s almost as if it leaps off the page or it’s written in bold, and I can’t stop thinking about it. That happened recently as I was reading Jeremiah 42. I knew there were some truths in these verses that God wanted me to understand:
“And they said to Jeremiah the prophet, ‘Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us—that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.’ Jeremiah the prophet said to them, ‘I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you, I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.’ Then they said to 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 your God sends you to us. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God.’”
What do you think happened?
God answered. He told them to remain in the land God had sent them. He said that He would build them up and not pull them down. That He was with them to save them and deliver them, but not yet.
Even after receiving an encouraging and good word from the Lord, Israel went back on their promised obedience. Not only did they not obey, but they were also angry with Jeremiah and said he was lying. Israel had just confessed that they would do anything God asked, but it turned out they were willing to do anything but the thing He asked. Needless to say, it didn’t go well for them.
As I read these verses, I felt like God was asking me to examine my own heart. Is there an area that I haven’t surrendered to Him? What about you? Is there anything in your life that you haven’t surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus? Is there anything that you find yourself saying: “Lord, I’ll do anything, but …”
• Lord, I’ll do anything, but surely you’re not asking me to respect my husband.
• Lord, I’ll do anything, but surely you’re not asking me to forgive that person.
• Lord, I’ll do anything, but surely you don’t want me to deal with my anger issue … I’m just a passionate person.
• Lord, I’ll do anything, but surely you’re not asking me to surrender my bitterness.
• Lord, I’ll do anything, but I’ll just control this one area of my life.
I remember Pastor Josh saying, “The vast majority of Christians are educated beyond their level of obedience. If you would just do what you already knew, your life would start to change.”
This statement convicts me every time. There is blessing in obedience to God’s Word. When God calls you to obedience, He is always working it out for your good and His glory. The best part is, when we hear His voice and respond, we are always drawn closer to Him.
PRAY
Father, when I hear your voice, and when you speak and convict me of sin or an area of obedience, I want you to know my “yes” is on the table. Make me a man/woman of faith.
I want to walk with you in humble obedience. Strengthen my resolve to surrender everything in my life to the Lordship.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
