ESOCS Devotional 6 May 2026 – Your Predicaments Will Change, If…?
MEMORY VERSE: ““Whether it pleases us or not, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are asking you to pray. All will go well with us if we obey Him.” Jeremiah 42:6 GNB
TEXT: JEREMIAH 42:1-12
Now all the captains of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see), 3 that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.”
4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard. Indeed, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and it shall be, that whatever the Lord answers you, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back from you.”
5 So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you. 6 Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”
7 And it happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 10 ‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you. 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’
READ OTHER ESOCS DEVOTIONAL HERE
A certain song writer’s rendition goes thus:
“When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way…”
Deuteronomy 28:6 has it that as we obey the commandments of the Lord, wherever we go and whatever we do shall prosper. Proverbs 16:20 asserts that those who trust the Lord and obey His instructions will be prosperous. In the same vein, King David, in Psalms 125:1 states that those who trust and obey the Lord shall be like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken or removed. In our text, the children of Judah had been deeply steeped in idolatry for so many years, that they neither could think of, nor repose confidence in Jehovah – the God of Israel. Now their idol gods had failed them, and thus they turned back to the God of Jeremiah. What a mockery, or folly for a people who have Abraham as their founding father?
In verse 2 of our text, the people acknowledged the fact that they were a very populous community; but now only a remnant remained. They were now worried that even the survivors had little or no hope of life. Now, it had dawned on them, they approached Jeremiah to pray to God to show them which way to follow. What an irony? Thanks be to God Almighty whose love and mercy is ever present. He harkened to their prayers. In likewise manner, in whatever negative situation you, as a believer find yourself, take a look at your ways. Make amends where necessary. He will surely deliver you who put your trust in Him. Take all your challenges to the Lord in prayers.
However, ensure you hearken unto the commandments of the Lord your God. Don’t forget, He remains a jealous God, who will never share His glory with any other.
Reflections
- In any situation, take it to the Lord in prayer. But beware of your conduct.
Prayer
- Lord Jesus, I believe and trust. May I never be confounded.
Further Reading: 2 Samuel 24:15-25; Mark 15:1-20; James 5:17-20
ESOCS Devotional 6 May 2026
