Lately, in my daily Bible reading, I have been reading through the book of Jeremiah. For some reason, I really enjoy reading about Jeremiah's life and ministry, even though there are many scenes in the book that are utterly depressing, and the burden that God asked Jeremiah to carry is beyond my ability to understand. I think the main thing that appeals to me about Jeremiah’s life is his total commitment to obeying God no matter what. 

Several times in this account, Jeremiah was given an assignment or a message for the leaders around him that was totally unconventional and went against everything that made sense according to human judgment. In Chapter 38:17-18 Jeremiah received a word from the Lord for King Zedekiah. “Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord God, the Lord of Hosts, The God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the King of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’” King Zedekiah ignored Jeremiah’s message from the Lord; the city was destroyed, and disaster struck him and his family. 

After the city was destroyed, the Lord then gave Jeremiah a message for the remnant that had been left in a very unstable and insecure land. We find God’s unconventional thinking in chapter 42:10-11. “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.” God went on to tell these people not to go to Egypt so they could feel better protected. From a purely human perspective, going to Egypt seemed like the best plan. At least they had a central government there and some rule of law that might give them better protection and possibilities for a good life. Again, this remnant of Israelites ignored the prophet Jeremiah and the word from the Lord he (Jeremiah) had given them, and very bad things happened to them. Jeremiah was close to God, knew what God wanted him to do, and was spared many of the disasters the Israelite people went through, even though he was right in their midst as Babylon was destroying their nation. 

Why was Jeremiah protected and the others destroyed? He was close enough to God to hear His voice, and he obeyed God habitually. I have heard it said many times, and I have said it many times, “The safest place on earth is the center of God’s will.” In our first pastorate, we lived in a pretty wild world in the heart of the Miami/Fort Lauderdale community. Drugs, prostitution, and vices of every kind surrounded us. Occasionally my wife would say, “I’m not sure this is the best place to raise our girls.” I would agree with her but then remind her that as long as we were in the center of God’s will, he would protect them, and He did. 

The cure for wandering aimlessly from job to job or ministry to ministry is to stop operating only in human understanding. In order for this to happen, we must be in daily communion with God through His Word and prayer, and we must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must also live every day with a heart that is fully surrendered to Christ. Not long before God gave me the vision of RenewaNation, I was blessed to be pastoring a thriving, growing congregation. Over a period of time, it seemed like the Lord was asking me if I would be willing to go back to a small struggling church. The thought frightened me because I knew how hard it was to get a church to the level of the church I was currently pastoring. Eventually, I said yes, and God called me to do something much more difficult in launching and developing the ministry of RenewaNation. 

Often, God’s ways are very different from our ways. Yes, He gave us a brain, and we should use it, but if we really want to see God at work in our lives, families, businesses, and ministries, we must live so close to God that we can discern His will for each situation. I’m not recommending that we go out and make a bunch of crazy decisions, but I am recommending when God makes it crystal clear that we are to do something that goes against the grain of common human understanding, we know and trust Him enough to follow His leadership. When we follow Him, we move into a realm of divine blessing that only He can produce. What decisions are you facing today? Will you make choices in harmony with God’s plan, or will you choose to rely only on your human understanding?