How long have you been waiting for the Lord to show you His will? Ten minutes? Ten hours? Ten days? Ten weeks? Ten months? What’s with the lapse of time? Why doesn’t the Lord jump when I snap my fingers? Why doesn’t He answer as soon as I make the request?

Jeremiah, God’s prophet during a very dark period in Jewish history had many reasons to weep. As conditions grew worse in the southern kingdom of Judah, Jeremiah was falsely accused of treason and was thrown into a sinking hole of mud. He was later rescued but things did not improve. On August 14th 586 B.C. Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonians, invaded and eventually destroyed. A remnant of Judah escaped and fled to Bethlehem. There they asked Jeremiah to pray for Divine direction.

“What is God’s will? Should we stay here in Bethlehem or should we flee down into Egypt? Please, Jeremiah, we want to know God’s will before we make any move.”

Here is what they said to Jeremiah the prophet:

Jeremiah agreed to seek God’s will on their behalf. They promised to obey God’s will. So Jeremiah prayed for the Lord to reveal His will. Then he waited. Day one. Day two. Day three. What’s taking the Lord so long to get back to Jeremiah with direction? Is He in a quandary Himself as to what to do next? Has He engaged an Angelic Consulting Firm to provide some options to pass along to Jeremiah? Day Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight – I guess you know how to count too. Has Jeremiah’s request fallen between the cracks or gotten lost in the host of other things God has to do?

Day Ten arrives and God provides explicit directions to Jeremiah to pass along to the remnant. They were definitely NOT to flee down to Egypt. They were to stay put and God would fully take care of them. If they head down to Egypt – misery and death would be their portion.

The first lesson is – God is not bound to our calendars or clocks. He operates in a different ‘time’ zone for lack of a better word. He inhabits eternity. Secondly, He is not obliged to jump when we snap our fingers. Thirdly, He does not have to reveal His reasons for keeping us waiting and we know there can be no mistake in His timing because God is inherently good – not evil or malicious. Fourthly, the patient God organizes things to boost the patience-quotient in His people.

But the other major observation to be made from this story is the response of the remnant after they found out God’s will. They chose to do their own thing anyway. Perhaps they were curious to know what God’s will was and they initially said they would submit and obey. But then when they heard it – they chose to do what was already in their heart. William MacDonald in The Believer’s Bible Commentary makes this observation:

Modern day christians often do the same thing: they ask God for guidance – and they often request counsel from parents, Sunday School teachers, elders, pastors, and others – yet their mind is already made up to do what they want. Unfortunately, such “seeking counsel” is all window dressing.

Are you waiting for the Lord to give you guidance on a matter? Allow Him to answer in His own good timing and when He does, be careful to fully submit and obey.