Jeremiah 42: 9 He said to them, “You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: 10 ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. 12 I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’
13 “But if you refuse to obey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here; 14 instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’ 15 then hear the Lord’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there, 16 the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there. 17 That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’
18 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury have been poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. And you will never see your homeland again.’ 19 “Listen, you remnant of Judah. The Lord has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today.

a few years ago.. I was ready to leave augusta... to go back to pa and resume my former life... and as I was contemplating this... because of situations here that I was unhappy about.. this is the scripture God had given me...

as much as I wanted to go back to what was familiar... I was too afraid... because the scripture said that everything that bothered me here.. would follow me there.. so I stayed here... and things may not be what I want them to be.. but God has surely provided for my every need.. and most of my wants... He has surely been kind and generous to me...

it is funny how often we make decisions in the heat of a moment without consulting God.. or God doesn't answer the same day we wanted.. so we go rushing forward in what we are thinking without waiting to hear from God... when Jeremiah went to God on this issue it was 10 days before he got his reply... I am sure that was a long 10 days for the people... the worst part is.. they disobeyed what God told them to do.. and the war they feared came after them in egypt.. and they were in a worse state than before...

God will speak to us.. give us direction.. but are we willing to wait for His reply? and if it is not what we wanted to hear.. are we willing to do what He said anyways? what good is an answer from God that we don't take?
Lord tune us in to your voice... give us the sense to ask your direction.. and the greater sense to take it when it is given... in Jesus name we ask.. amen...

(p.s. funny... I wrote this in the morning.. to be posted when I get home.. and a preacher preached some of this to us this evening..)