Irrational Obedience?
A word from the Lord comes to Jeremiah. Make sure to read this record in detail. While Jeremiah is confined in the court of the prison, the Lord tells him to buy a field in Anathoth because the right of redemption belongs to him.
Yet, Jeremiah had been prophesying: Jerusalem will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon. The city will fall.
So, what do you think that will do to the value of the property? Will anyone ever live there again? If the land is overtaken by another nation, what good will the deed even be?
From a practical standpoint, buying this field seems irrational. Yet Jeremiah obeys. His purchase becomes a visible declaration that judgment will not be the end of the story. God promises restoration: "Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, "It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans." Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them... for I will cause their captives to return,' says the LORD."" Jeremiah 32:42-44
I'm not saying we should be irrational people or that everything the Lord leads us to do will seem irrational. What I am saying is that we should be willing to obey the Lord even when His leading doesn't make sense to us in the moment.
Jeremiah heard a word from the Lord. The Lord confirmed the word. So Jeremiah obeyed the word.
Could we put our names in Jeremiah's place? Are we willing to obey even when we can't see how everything's going to work out?
Again, obedience isn't always going to seem irrational, but sometimes it may not make sense from our limited perspective. Is your heart willing and ready to obey regardless of the circumstances or the outcome? When the Lord leads, are we willing to follow? Is He truly Lord over every area of our lives?
Be still. Ask the Lord to reveal your heart. Be ready to obey.
-To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission