The Potter's House Chapter 5 - The Best Investment
We see something interesting in chapter thirty-two of the book of Jeremiah. The facts narrated there occurred during the time of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, at the end of his reign. The army from Babylon was besieging Jerusalem (v. 1) and Jeremiah was imprisoned because of his faithfulness in prophesying the words of the Lord. Unfortunately, people only like to hear what pleases them, even if it is a lie, and do not like to hear the truth. When Nebuchadnezzar was about to invade Jerusalem, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying that Hanamel, the son of his uncle, would come to tell him to buy a field in Anathoth (vv. 6, 7). This came to pass. If we read carefully, we will see that the Lord only told Jeremiah that Hanamel would come to make a proposal to him. He did not tell him that he should or should not buy it. However, even though Jeremiah was shut up in a city surrounded by enemies, he understood that this was the Lord's word.
We may use this situation to illustrate the matter of the teaching of the anointing in 1 John 2:27. We like to have clear and definite answers with regard to what we should study or whom we should marry, but the anointing does not work that way. It does not say, "You should study medicine," or, "You should marry Marion." Then how can we know what the anointing is saying? The anointing requires that you know God, that you have fellowship with Him. The anointing only gives us a slight indication, but it is up to us to develop the feeling of the anointing. This is only possible if, each time the anointing "moves" within us, we seek the Lord more. We may ask, "Lord, is this Your will? Lord, is this the person I should marry?" We like advice. We like people to tell us what we should do. But God wants us to know what pleases Him. He wants us to be more intimate with Him and seek the direction for our life only from Him.
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