Favourable Instructions

If someone was to say to me, 'I want you to eat all your left over Easter eggs in one sitting,'  I would be fairly quickly to obey.

Jeremiah 42:1-22

Reference:  v.6  "Whether it is favourable or unfavourable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God." (NIV Bible)

Explore:  It's always easy to obey someone when they tell you to do something that you want to do.  If someone was to say to me, 'I want you to eat all your left over Easter eggs in one sitting,'  I would be fairly quickly to obey.  However, if someone said to me, 'You should substitute all your left over Easter eggs for carrot and celery sticks', well that may be a little different!  It's easy to obey someone's instructions when they are pleasing to us.  However, if the instructions go against our will then it takes a great deal more determination to fulfil the commands.

Application:  When the remaining people of Judah were waiting to hear directions from God they said that they would follow His instructions whether they were favourable to them or not.  It seems that they assumed that God was going to give them instructions that were favourable!  There are things in my own life that I believe God would have me do but which are not always favourable.  Waking up early to spend time in prayer is not always easy for me; fasting from food to dedicate focus to God is not always pleasurable; and having the courage to stand up to my peers for what I believe can take a great deal of determination.  But I believe, while these situations may not always be favourable, they are ways that I can be obedient to God.

Prayer:  Lord, You have given us so much and yet we struggle to be obedient to You.  Forgive us of our selfishness, we pray.  Amen.

What are some ways that you can be obedient to God, even though they may not be favourable to your own desires?