SCRIPTURE
“But I am afraid to surrender,” the king said, “for the Babylonians may hand me over to the Judeans who have defected to them. And who knows what they will do to me!” Jeremiah replied, “You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you."
Jeremiah 38:19-20
OBSERVATION
King Zedekiah was more afraid of what people could do to him than what God could do to him. His fear impaired his judgment. It caused him to be indecisive, anxious, and certainly, very proud. When Jeremiah exhorts him to surrender, Zedekiah cannot even consider it. His fear has taken over his will. He thinks that no one should have power or authority over him. He alone determines his own destiny. He was very wrong. The history of Israel and Zedekiah's descendants would have been very different if he had simply complied to God's command to surrender and to trust in His grace to protect him.
APPLICATION
Fearing people more than God will always cause us to become stubborn and prideful. We know that this is the worse case scenario with God. The Lord resists the proud and stays away from those who lack the humility necessary to surrender their will and plan to God. We fear people more than God when we make decisions thinking more about what people would say or do. We don't want to confess and repent becasue we are afraid that people would misjudge us and reject us. We are afraid to stand up for what is right because we want to avoid criticism. We are afraid to surrender any area in our lives because we don't trust that God will honor our obedience. That is the big problem with stubbornness. It's rooted in lack of trust in God. It's the total opposite from faith. And it's the worse case scenario in our relationship with God. It will destroy every thing in our lives.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, there is some of Zedekiah in me that needs to die today. I recognize that in many instances I'm more afraid of what people can do to me than what you can do in my life if I continue in stubbornness. Please forgive me for not trusting in your hand of grace completely. Help me to make decisions, tough ones, regardless of what people think. Let my faith grow as I trust in your redemption power more than in my own ways to handle my life. You are the King of my life, not me. I surrender it all to you. Amen!
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