God's Plans Are Not Meant To Win Popularity Contests

Jeremiah 38:19-20 -  King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me."  "They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared.

 

The king had led his people into a great time of confusion.  He had no real direction in his life…so the people had none in theirs either. He didn’t want to believe the one person who really knew the direction God wanted him to take…so he began to do anything anyone brought to him as an idea in hopes that something would work.

 

Jeremiah caught the brunt of the people’s frustration…and ended up at the bottom of a cistern full of mud. But a good Ethiopian pleaded for his life to the king and even comforted his removal from the deep well by sending some old rags down with the ropes to pad his arms.

 

Here’s what really impressed me about Jeremiah’s faith at this time in his life when he was constantly attacked and saw little or no fruit from the messages God had him deliver.  When confronted in a private …protected time with the king….he continued to tell the whole truth.  He even tried to comfort this ‘wishy washy’ king who could not make up his mind what to do.

 

There are times when we will want to please those that seem to have the greatest influence on our futures….but that is not always the long term answer to our problems. Sometimes we have to choose to follow the will of God…even if the outcome doesn’t look like the 5 year plans we had mapped out for ourselves. Sometimes….and if we are really honest…God’s plans will not win us any popularity contests…or earn us any world fame.  But they will benefit the most people in the long run…where God’s plans to save the most people he can from a life of eternal suffering are really what matters. And what is really cool is that God will protect us and cover us throughout any storm that we have to walk through to do his will.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I only need to worry about pleasing you. Forgive me for the times I have let the call to be politically correct make a decision that was not your will.  Help me to be more like Jeremiah...and let my confidence in your word lead me to do what is right in your eyes….so you can help more people to understand the love you have for all of us. Thank you for all the times you have covered me…and given me strength…even when I made the wrong decision.  Help me to focus more on you so I can determine your will more quickly. Amen.