From the beginning of our Quest study until now, it seems like our conversation has been all about choices: good ones, bad ones, small ones, large ones. Is it ok if I eat that apple? Should I really build that ark? Should I go see why that bush is burning? Can we just go back to Egypt? Do we have to follow all those commands? What is the name of that girl on the roof?
Jeremiah spent his life warning the people of Jerusalem to choose God or a bad fate would follow. In Chapter 29, we see that he wrote a bit of an “I told you so” letter after the city had fallen and the people had been exiled to Babylon. Why wasn’t Jeremiah in exile as well? We find later in Jeremiah that he was pulled from the 700-mile march into exile and was given a choice: to have a cushy life in Babylon guaranteed by King Nebuchadnezzar, or to stay behind with the faithful remnant in Jerusalem where only a hard life awaited. He made the hard choice.
When Jay and I moved to Chicago for his first role in ministry, we signed up for a three-year stint. Two years into his work, he got offered a larger role, but that meant staying for a few more years. I just wanted to go back home—back to the South where my family, friends, beach, and football could be found. As we struggled with the decision, we went to the elders of the church for prayer. They prayed about landscaping a yard and knowing where to plant things. I thought, “What an odd thing to pray.” The next day, I read Jeremiah 29, and it said, “Build houses, settle down, plant gardens.” I literally yelled out as I read the text. It felt like God was suggesting that we should let our shallow roots grow deeper. The hard choice became clear. We stayed. In hindsight, we know that it was a time of preparation for our work ahead.
Each of our daily choices moves us toward God or away from God, toward His plans for us or away from His plans for us. Choices matter.