Go There!

Jeremiah 40:4

I free you this day from the chains that were on your hands. If it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you, wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”

What we do with out rime determines where we will end up. It’s hard to decide what to do when your hands are free and you are free to go wherever you want to go. The choice is between two places, Babylon or Jerusalem. Babylon is the place of captivity, where everyone has gone because of their disobedience to God. Jerusalem is God’s city but it's been ravished by the enemy and awaits restoration. You have to work the land but you can’t work it unless you go there. Babylon is a great city but it’s controlled by the enemy. Jerusalem is God’s city but it's been destroyed by the enemy. I’ve been set free by the enemy due to the fact that I’m chosen by God. Which way do I go? Go there!

Oftentimes, when you hear people say “don’t go there!” There is a place where others dare not go because it is a place people try to avoid. They will say I can’t believe you “went there.” “There” is a place that needs to be addressed but nobody wants to “go there” because they are inconvienced or it’s not popular to go “there.” “There” is a place that has been devastated by the enemy but if I “go there” I can speak to what happened and why it happened but eh question is “”Do I have to go there?” If you are going to see true restoration you have to “go there.”
When you “go there” God will make your enemy bless you! It’s in the text.

When Jeremiah decided to go back to the devastated Jerusalem and dwell with the remnants the captain of the guard gave him three things:

1. Rations. There was no food in the land. Jeremiah said the people were out in the streets begging for bread and wine. They were moaning from hunger but he was given rations. God made the enemy give him something to eat because Jeremiah “went there.” You got to understand that Jeremiah “went there” before he “went there.” He was obedient to what God told him to do even when it was unpopular to do so. He told Israel that they needed to turn back to God while they were still experiencing prosperity. After the land was devastated and people were hungry, Jeremiah was still eating because he “went there.”

2. Gift. The captain of the guard gave Jeremiah a gift. It could have been money, it could have been clothes, but he gave him a gift. When you “go there” God will bless you with gifts. Your gifts will make room for you and bring you into the presence of great men. When Mary and Joseph “went there” to give birth to Jesus away from home in a manger, God sent foreigners with gifts to bless Baby Jesus. When you have Jesus with you foreigners will bring you gifts even when you are inconvenienced by manger situations. Go there!

3. A place to stay. The Captain of the guard told Jeremiah to go take residence with somebody in charge in the city. When you go there God will open up doors and give you a place to stay.

All I need is my freedom and some rations, my gift, and some place to start over, but I got to “go there” in order to get it! You know what you need to do today?! Go there!

Dear God, help me to go there and not be afraid to speak truth to Power, to speak truth in love, to shed light where there is darkness. Give me the strength and the courage to “go there” even when it seems inconvenient to do so. Thank you for going there with me and for “going there” for me. You didn’t have to go to Calvary’s Cross to die for me but Jesus you “went there” hung, bled, and died so that one day I could “go there.” Thank God I’m HERE!

In Jesus Name!

Amen.