Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. – Jeremiah 36:23-25
Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 34-36; Hebrews 2
The King in Jeremiah’s time received some bad news from Jeremiah. A scroll was presented to him that predicted that his regime would be overthrown by the Babylonians and the whole nation would be taken over. He decided to ignore it and burned the scroll bit by bit as the words were read to him.
The audacity!
Of course burning the words didn’t prevent them from being true. Dude was plucked from his seat of power just as those fiery words predicted.
I know that I have been like that king. There have been several things that God has told me that I didn’t want to hear. Sometimes it was commands to take certain actions. Other times it was confirmation about the direction that my life should take. But in all of these cases I sure didn’t want to hear it. I tried to burn the memory of these words from my mind just like the wayward king.
We have several choices in this situation. We can choose to listen and react to what we have heard or we can choose to ignore it.
Finally I am listening and let me tell you something… it is actually turning out better than I could have ever imagined!
We tend to think that we are the authors of our own lives and to a certain extent that is true. We have the free will do to whatever it is that we want to do.
But what I have noticed is that the things that God tells me to do are the things lead me in the direction of the greatest and most lasting joy. Sure, the path might be narrow but the destination is sublime.
What is God telling you to do? Are you doing it?
Obedience leads to freedom. Yes, this does sound like an oxymoron but it is true when God is the one that you are obeying.
This is what I am learning right now.
I dig it! High five! And amen!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Ironically I came across quote this week along similar lines. "Freedom doesn't always mean going. Sometimes it means staying."
ReplyDeleteTaking it a bit deeper, I started to really think about this in God's perspective. Freedom doesn't mean going away from what's not working for you, but rather listening and truly obeying what God is telling us. Whether that means going in a different direction that He is leading us too or staying and dealing with our situation because we are where He want's us to be, we need to always look to God for guidance. It is only through Him that we find true freedom.
Thanks for this post C!