“If … I announce that a nation … is to be built up …, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.”
Jeremiah 18:9-10
The New International Version of the Bible uses the words “relent” and “reconsider” to describe what we in our limited human understanding would call God’s changing of His mind. This seems to indicate to us that God, in some sense, responds to our actions. He did not create us to be automatically obedient robots. We have free will to make decisions, and God responds to our choices.
He often lets us know ahead of time what He will do. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says that if we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear us from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. When we obey God, we reap His blessings.
However, He is a loving Father who desires our good, even if that good comes through hard circumstances. When we read Scripture passages that tell us God “reconsiders,” we allow that while God may change His plans, we know that because He is God, every plan of His was in place before time began. Even in His reconsiderations, His will for our lives is perfectly sovereign.
He often lets us know ahead of time what He will do. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says that if we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear us from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. When we obey God, we reap His blessings.
However, He is a loving Father who desires our good, even if that good comes through hard circumstances. When we read Scripture passages that tell us God “reconsiders,” we allow that while God may change His plans, we know that because He is God, every plan of His was in place before time began. Even in His reconsiderations, His will for our lives is perfectly sovereign.
Scripture Focus
Jeremiah 18:8-10
Insight
God “does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). Don’t bother trying to thwart His intentions for you. Obey Him and rejoice in His blessings.
Bible In A Year
- Genesis 5-7
- Psalm 3
- Matthew 5
