The God Who Fills Heaven and Earth

Jeremiah 23:13,16-24

13. In the prophets of Samaria I saw an unsavory thing: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. 16. Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes; they speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, `It shall be well with you'; and to every one who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, `No evil shall come upon you.'" 18. For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to perceive and to hear his word, or who has given heed to his word and listened? 19. Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. 20. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his mind. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. 21. "I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. 22. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23. "Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? 24. Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.

There is only one truth. There is only one God. There is only one way to live. God makes it very clear, throughout the history of the world – since Adam and Eve – what the expectation is! These verses offer a pretty good test of whether or not a prophet is from God, or is of man. And these verses from Jeremiah warn us that no good will come from following the prophecies of false gods—from manmade ideas and out of the weakness and sin of mankind.

Who among the pundits and the powerbrokers has stood in the council of the Lord? Who among the leaders and the rulers have perceived and heard God’s word? Who of those invading our homes and our minds and filling our ears and our hearts with promises have given heed and listened to what God says? This is what we must judge for ourselves every day. We must consciously, deliberately discern what is from God and what is not.

Once we make that decision, we must act upon it. We must structure our lives around what we believe. We must do the “little things” and the “big things” that put the world on notice that we worship a God who cannot be defined by man’s limitations, or limited by man’s creations. We honor and praise a God who possesses wisdom and might, mercy and tenderness, and who dispenses justice and judgment without impunity.

At the end of days, God’s hand will move across the horizon and strike down the false prophets, he’ll silence them and they will be no more. In the meantime, we must decide for ourselves who and what is right and just and good and true. Teach it to our children. Preach it to our neighbors. Live our lives accordingly. We will pay a price for our faith. We will stand out in the world. We will be scorned and ridiculed. But whose approval do we seek? Whose love do we need? Whose promise do we know to be immutable?

Each day we must ask ourselves these questions! Every morning we must commit ourselves anew to living by these truths. And our reward will be greater than we can even imagine! It will be worth it! It will be wonderful! And all our troubles will be washed away.

I hope you spend today reminding yourself who your God is, and remembering what He has promised you.