Jeremiah 42

Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant , we will listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God. Jer 42:6

There are really only two kinds of visits you can have to the dentist: pleasant or unpleasant. As a kid, I had a lot of problems with my teeth because I ate sugar and rarely brushed. So I hated going in for checkups because I knew the only thing they would check is how many fillings I would need this time. But, as unpleasant as it is to go to the dentist, the pain of a dental problem is much worse. I've had two root canals and the pain of a broken tooth is rough. In those cases I couldn't wait to get into the dentist, because I knew an unpleasant visit would bring a pleasant result.

So here you have this group of people who are left over from the last chapter. They didn't kill Babylon's newly appointed governor, but they were in the vicinity and so they're afraid of being guilty by association. The people are preparing to escape to Egypt, until the commanders of the people asked Jeremiah to seek if God wanted them to go to Egypt or stay put. And they assured Jeremiah that as long as he told them truth, they would do whatever God said whether they liked it or not. So Jeremiah comes back to tell them that going to Egypt is bad, and if they stay, God will protect them. Suddenly the people call Jeremiah a liar and refuse to listen. Why such a change of heart on following God? I would say it's because they never intended to follow God. They had made up their minds to go to Egypt and they were hoping that Jeremiah would give them the ok from God. When this didn't happen, it becomes clear that they didn't want God to give them instruction. They wanted God to go with their plan. Often we make our plans and then pray and ask God to bring them about. Our first step in an issue should not be to come up with a plan, but to seek God's plans. If we ask for wisdom, He will grant it, and planning without the wisdom of God is likely to get you a plan that God is not for. His ways are higher and greater than ours and as a result, His plans are not often going to be the ones we would have picked. Are you willing to follow God in any circumstance? Or are you simply looking for Him to verify your own thoughts? God's plan may not always be as pleasant as the one you picked, but the final result will ultimately be what's best for you and bring you closer to becoming the person God wants you to be.