Day 59: I trust You, Lord. I won’t go back. Jeremiah 42
Today’s lesson was suggested by Kemiyia, my nine year old. She said to write about waiting until marriage.
You may wonder how a lesson from the book of Jeremiah can be used to share with you about waiting until marriage. Well, here’s how.
This chapter starts with the few left in Judah asking Jeremiah to pray and give them a word from God. Aren’t you glad that you don’t have to chase down a prophet to hear from God today! Anywho…. They affirmed that whatever God tells them to do, they will do. No matter what, good or bad, they will obey. Jeremiah said, “Sure, I’ll pray and seek God for you. Whatever HE says, I will tell you exactly.” So he prayed. Ten days later he came back with a word for them.
If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Jeremiah 42:10 KJV
Sometimes being single is hard. You may feel lonely and even insecure, feeling like no one wants you. But if the word you receive is to stay where you are, would you? Would you remain single for the sake of your relationship with your first love? In your singleness, He can build you up rather than pull you down. You see, some people have to be pulled down before they can be built up, but if you will obey, you won’t have to go through that.
And He will plant you, or make you stable. There are too many single people who just aren’t stable in their mind. In an effort to feel loved, they jump from lily to lily looking, hoping, searching, and wishing that this is the ‘the one’ and it isn’t, giving themselves up for the sake of being with someone and losing most of who they are in the process. Some people have a game plan, a ten step program, or even an Ouija board that tells them every step to make. These type of people need to be plucked before they can be planted. When plucked, they have to be dusted off, pruned, renewed, refreshed, cleaned, and reestablished (planted). Why go through all of that when you can by-pass it by staying where you are?
Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. Jeremiah 42:11 KJV
Babylon always represents pride and idolatry. From a relationship standpoint, your desire to be in a relationship becomes your idol, more important than your God. It becomes your focus in life. Instead, focus on the latter of this verse. Once again, He is promising to be with you. Knowing that fact alone should encourage you to stay where you currently are. Being safe in his care is the best place to be. Can you stay there?
But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. Jeremiah 42:13-16 KJV
You think it will be ok if you disobey. You think the grass is greener doing things your way. It isn’t. If you decide not to obey the word of the Lord that says to stay were you are, to wait, you will surely die. To the people of Judah, God meant a physical death. In this analogy, it’s a spiritual one. Do you recall when Adam and Eve were in the garden? God told Adam that if they ate of the one tree, they would surely die. The serpent came and convinced Eve that she wouldn’t die. She tried the fruit of the tree and realized she didn’t fall dead. Neither did Adam when he ate. But they most definitely died spiritually. They lost the right to be in the presence of God. Sin cannot remain in the presence of God (2 Corinthians 3:17). When you sin, you are immediately spiritually dead. You are immediately cut off from God.
Testimony: a young lady heard her name being called three nights in a row. Each night, she’d wake to hear her name with her boyfriend lying next to her. Knowing she was brought up correctly, she feared her mother knew what she doing and would call home. (She seemed to fear what her mother thought far more than what God thought.) The first time she called to feel her mother out. When nothing was revealed, they disconnected. The second time she called to feel things out concerning something going on in the family. Again, nothing was revealed so they disconnected. The third time she came out and asked if anything was wrong. When her mother told her there wasn’t, the young lady finally let the mother know she kept hearing her name called in the wee hours of the night and this was why she kept calling: to see if her mother wanted to tell her something. Her mother told her to answer. “Here I am, Lord.” When the young lady heard the call again, she cried out, “No, Lord, I’m not ready!” This young lady later confessed that when she examined her life, sex was what kept her from completely turning to God. She didn’t want to give it up. The young lady also disclosed that she never heard her name being called audibly again and she regretted ever turning Him down.
Egypt represents bondage. The people of God were freed from Egypt and they wanted to return back! Seriously! God called this young lady. In her current state, He called her out. She chose to go back to ‘Egypt’. God was calling her not to return to Egypt and that’s where she wanted to be. This young lady was bound by sin. Sex had her tied down. She missed a very key opportunity in her life. There was no liberty for her. Who knows what she would have been had she answered the call. God wanted to free her from it, and she kept turning back.
You don’t have to be like this young lady, missing out on spiritual blessings and opportunities. Seek God for a word. If he tells you to stay put, STAY PUT. Keep yourself. Remain pure. He will establish you. He will build you. He will develop and nurture you. When the time is right, you will be ready for your mate. Don’t let Satan tell you that you aren’t worth it. You are worth it. That’s why He died for you. He thought that highly of you and now it’s time for you to see that too.
So a story from Jeremiah can be used to remind you to keep yourself. When you understand sin and what’s calling you to return to it, you can identify your Egypt and turn from it, staying where you are and allowing God to work in and through you.
Worth it,
Keiyia JOYet George
Trust Walk: Walking in His Steps coming soon!