Jeremiah 44:16 “’As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!’”

NOT LISTENING

Have you ever heard those words from someone? You explain to them the truth of the matter, but they refuse to listen to you. They are convinced their way is best, and nothing else matters. Even if God Himself appeared, they would continue down the same road.

These words came from the Jewish people who were left in Judah. They told Jeremiah they did not care what he said. They did not care if God had given him the words. They were NOT going to stay in Judah and be under Babylonian rule. They went to Egypt and even drug Jeremiah with them.

TEACHING MOMENT

Your children, if they haven’t already, are going to buck you. They are going to say those very words to you, “I don’t care what you say!” They will refuse to listen to you. Guess what? You can’t make them obey. Just as God did not force these Jewish believers to believe, you must let your children learn a lesson sometimes. That is hard, isn’t it?

Don’t you think God wanted to “make” them stay in Judah? It would have been better for them. But no!!!!! They had to do things their way and suffered for it. They even caused others to suffer because of their sin. Your children must learn that lesson, too. They need to know that they can make their own choices, but they cannot choose their own consequences. Every choice they make will have consequences.

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of doing things my way. After all these years, I have finally begun to believe God means what he says. He does know what is best for me. Even when I have the “better” or “easier” way, I must trust that He has it all under control. He may want me to travel the hard path to teach me to rely more on Him.

Hmmmmm! How about you?