But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.” However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please.” (Jeremiah 40:4,5, NIV)
As much as a year is around when my dad left to take care of my uncle in Washington State, it’s also time for a not-so-sudden decision: where will I go now? I do not know if it’s God’s will for me to stay or leave. Questions pop up so frequent in my mind: What if this happens? Is it safe? Where will I turn?
What about Jeremiah? He was given a choice: he could go anywhere he wanted. Jerusalem was ripped to shreds, but the world was still his oyster. Unusually, he received a recommendation to go to one of the officials of the king of Babylon. If he wouldn’t receive the recommendation, where would he go? Would the story change?
This is the time I can’t rely on myself to do a choice. What makes us unique is realizing that a fork on the road can either make it or break it, but in the end, the experience was worth it. Maybe God wanted Jeremiah to go to one of the king’s ministers and stay there. I know He’s here, but it’ll take me a while to make a choice. Maybe He doesn’t want to rush me.
He knows that my mind will soon be made up.