Ten Days Later

Waiting in Fellowship with the Guide

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 42

“Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah …‘Do not be afraid… for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion.’”

Jeremiah 42:7, 11–12

When the remnant of Judah came to Jeremiah, they asked for divine direction: “Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” Yet they had already decided to flee to Egypt. They did not seek guidance; they sought confirmation. Jeremiah prayed — and waited. For ten days, there was silence. Only after that patient silence did God speak: “Do not be afraid… for I am with you.” But by then, the people’s impatience and fear had already hardened their hearts. They trusted their own plans more than the God who had promised compassion and deliverance. As a result, they ignored God’s warning, fled to Egypt, and met the very disaster—sword, famine, and exile—that He had sought to save them from.

E. Stanley Jones, the Methodist missionary to India, learned a similar lesson in his early ministry. Zealous and sincere, he tried to fit God’s will into his own ambitions. Later he wrote, “If you do not seek the will of God first, you will seek to bend it later.” In time, he discovered that true guidance comes not from impulse or cleverness but from staying close to the Guide Himself. “When I turned my will over to Christ,” he said, “I found that His will was not a straitjacket — it was wings.”

We, too, often move ahead, asking God to bless choices already made. Yet guidance is born not in haste but in holy waiting. As John Stott observed, “We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security.” And C.S. Lewis reminds us, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’”

When we wait in fellowship with the Guide, even silence becomes sacred. God’s timing teaches trust; His pauses prepare our hearts for obedience.

Prayer

Lord, teach us to seek Your will before making decisions. Deliver us from rushing ahead or bending Your plan to fit our desires. Give us patience to wait through the “ten days” of silence until Your word comes clear. Keep us in fellowship with You, our true Guide. Lead us in Your compassion, and help us to walk in obedience and peace.

Amen.