Friday, January 27: Jeremiah 27- Counter-intuitive thinking.

As I listened to God’s Word to Judah, I thought it must go against every thought or idea the leaders naturally have. Give in to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and live. Resist and die, resist and watch Jerusalem and the temple destroyed.

God’s way takes faith, belief that God is leading. God’s way takes obedience. God’s way does not allow Judah to trust in itself, its strength, cunning or whatever.

The way of faith is like that… it requires us to lay aside our ways and follow God’s ways. The author of the letter to the Hebrews but it like this. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). And from that statement the author of Hebrews takes us on a journey showing time and again Old Testament heroes believing and following God. Often they needed to set aside basic human wisdom to follow God… Noah building an ark, Abraham believing he would have a son, and so on.

Faith does not mean we turn off our minds.  It means we seek the mind of Christ and when His direction is different than our natural wisdom or instincts, we follow God’s leading not ours.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Lord, give me the faith of Abraham and Noah and the heroes I read about in the Old and New Testaments. Help me to grow to be a man of faith, worthy of Your name. In and through Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen. 

 

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