Keeping Nothing Back
After most of the people of Judah were killed or taken to Babylon, those who were left came to Jeremiah, asking him to pray for them. They wanted to know God's will for them. Jeremiah gave them the right response. He agreed to pray for God's direction, and then to tell them God's response, keeping nothing back from them. (Jeremiah 42:4) This is an important lesson for all of us to apply in our own lives.
When we sincerely pray to God, so that He will show us something that is important to us or to others, we must be willing to take His full message and share it with all who need to hear it. We must not be afraid to convey the entire message. If we keep anything back, God will not be pleased with us, and they will not have all of the information they need to do God's will fully. Sometimes, when God gives us a difficult message to convey, we are tempted to be vague or to leave out some of the details, so no one will be upset with us. That never works out well. We should be more concerned about displeasing God than displeasing other people. We should love them enough to tell them the whole counsel of God, so they can fully obey God and be blessed. This is true, even when we suspect that they will not like what God said, or that they will not do it. We must give them every chance to do the right thing, so none of the blame for the disobedience comes to us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 43-46.
When we sincerely pray to God, so that He will show us something that is important to us or to others, we must be willing to take His full message and share it with all who need to hear it. We must not be afraid to convey the entire message. If we keep anything back, God will not be pleased with us, and they will not have all of the information they need to do God's will fully. Sometimes, when God gives us a difficult message to convey, we are tempted to be vague or to leave out some of the details, so no one will be upset with us. That never works out well. We should be more concerned about displeasing God than displeasing other people. We should love them enough to tell them the whole counsel of God, so they can fully obey God and be blessed. This is true, even when we suspect that they will not like what God said, or that they will not do it. We must give them every chance to do the right thing, so none of the blame for the disobedience comes to us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 43-46.