S) "2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, 'You are telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, "You are not to enter Egypt to reside there"; 3 but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon.'"
Jeremiah 43:2-3 (NASB)
O) This shows the true colors of the men who came in Jeremiah 42:6, supposedly humble, asking Jeremiah to inquire of the LORD about taking refuge in Egypt. Their words said all the right things, declaring that they wanted what God wanted, even if it was unpleasant. But then, when Jeremiah spoke truthfully to them, they discarded it because it wasn't what they wanted to hear.
A) There are a lot of little phrases that circulate Christian prayers. I hear things like, "whatever it takes, God;" or someone will pray with a caveat, "but only You say it's good for me." Phrases like this aren't bad, but they become empty clichés when they are not honest. I need to be especially careful to pray honestly, or else my final condition could actually be worsened, I think. If I am saying with my mouth, "Your will be done, Lord." but in my heart, I am harboring arrogant pride, thinking I know what's best, determining to follow my own plans, instead of being obedient to Him, then I am not just disobeying in rebellion, but I am also lying! God cannot abide haughtiness (see Psalm 101:5), but a deceitful tongue is also egregious (see Psalm 5:6).
P) Father, my heart is plain to You. In Your omniscience, You know me better than I know myself. Open my eyes, Father God, to see myself as plainly as You do, to know the honest posture of my heart. Before I pray for Your will to be done, let the Holy Spirit within me convict me of pride and deceit. Help me to humble myself, but humble me if I am still haughty. There is nothing more important than my relationship with You, and my eternity in heaven. Whatever it takes, whether that means I lose every earthly pleasure, or that it literally costs me every temporal thing, LORD keep me as Yours alone, discipline me as Your son, and let me continue to be found in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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