God’s Challenge to You and Me
“Ask Me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.”
Jeremiah 33:3 (NLT)
What a challenge! Originally given to the prophet Jeremiah when under arrest and confined in the courtyard of the guard in Jerusalem, this promise came from God Himself! Check it out:
“This is what the LORD says – the LORD who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the LORD. Ask Me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.” Jeremiah 33:1-3 (NLT)
Jeremiah was arrested for giving messages from the Lord that King Zedekiah did not want to hear! He didn’t want to hear the truth. Zedekiah was the final King before Judah fell to the Babylonians and Jeremiah was warning him to turn back to God while there was still time. Rather than returning to the Lord, Zedekiah decided to silence the messenger. Sound familiar?
How did Jeremiah know what was about to happen to Judah? There were so many; in fact, most of the other prophets were declaring just the opposite message as Jeremiah’s! Like Zedekiah, we are bombarded with conflicting messages about our present and future circumstances. How do we know which ones are true? Is it possible to know what is about to happen? Does God still reveal the future? While so many view the Bible as a book of history, it is so much more! God offers counsel for today and hope for tomorrow in the pages of His Word. When we view life through the lenses of the Bible, God gives us the insight we would not otherwise have through social media, economic, geopolitical, or even historical lenses. How? How do we get Divine Insight? One way is by engaging the Spirit of God when we read the Word of God. Unlike any other book you read, you have the author at your disposal whenever and wherever you read the Bible! Consider that for a minute. When you open the pages of God’s Word, ask the God of the Word to open your understanding. That’s what the Psalmist did when he prayed, “Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.” Psalm 119:18 (NLT)
God challenges us to simply ask. “Ask Me,” He says, and “I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.” This is the mystery of revelation. God will use His revealed Word to open our eyes to see what we would not otherwise see. God is at work in amazing ways all around us, but too often we can’t see it. In Amos, you’ll find an incredible promise. In Amos 3:7 (NLT), the Bible tells us, “Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until He reveals His plans to His servants the prophets.”
Do you know His plan for your life? Ask Him. Rather than telling Him your plans, ask Him to show you, His plan? Look to see where God is at work around you. Offer yourself to God to join Him in what He is doing and experience the blessings that flow from aligning your heart with His! Are you ready to accept God’s challenge?