Muddy Obedience

Scripture:

Jeremiah 38:6 "So the officials took Jeremiah fro his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard...There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it".

Observation:

Jeremiah did exactly what God told him to do and obeyed God all the way. He prophesied accurately and brought forth the word of the Lord. He was God's spokesman of the day! The problem is that people don't always like to hear what God truly has to say and he ended up in a muddy cistern, sinking into the mud as a punishment. Speaking God's word had gotten him thrown into prison and now into a muddy cistern. Doesn't sound like victorious living. God's rescue comes through and he is brought out of the muddy pit, but he still had to go through it.

Application:

Today it seems like we think that obeying God means everything will go easy and He will never allow you to go through any difficult situations. Throughout most of the Bible, those who did what God told them to do, ended up in bad situations. God always delivered them, but they had to go through some pretty rough stuff. God is the deliverer and always bring us out, but we must realize that obedience can get muddy. When obedience to God gets muddy, God always brings us out of the mud.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to walk in complete obedience to You in every area of my life. Teach me to obey even when the results don't look right to me. Help me to lean on You and deliver Your words accurately like Jeremiah. When things go bad, help me to realize that it went bad for most of Your prophets, but You always brought them out.

Love Always,

Jeff