This summer I was able to experience the future, a self-driving car. My friend recently purchased a Tesla, and he had a free trial of the Full Self-Driving feature. The idea of not actually having to drive has been a dream of mine for a long time (I’m still waiting for teleportation to become a reality). And sitting in my friend’s Tesla as it drove us to the grocery store felt like the first step into the dream of automated transportation.

There were moments when I really wanted to grab the steering wheel, the scariest being making a left turn at a stoplight in traffic, but I didn’t. I simply needed to trust that when I asked for the car to drive me to the store it would do so safely and effectively. In our reading for today, the Israelites found themselves in a similar situation. Not in a Tesla, but in a predicament of impending domination. And what did they do? They asked God for guidance. Where they failed was listening to what God said.

It appears that the Israelites wanted to do God’s will as long as it lined up with their desires. They are looking at God as a wish-granter instead of a loving parent. The Israelites say all the right words, but their actions do not reflect these words. Instead, they decide to do the exact opposite. When they are told “Do not go to Egypt!” in Jeremiah 42:19 they decide to completely ignore the command. They leave Judah and they receive exactly what they asked for, God’s “faithful witness” (Jeremiah 42:5).

John 14:26 captures a moment when Jesus offers to us all an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who “will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” We have this spiritual steering wheel that is living in us; God is at the wheel, and we are called to follow. It is so tempting to grab onto the wheel and drive into Egypt (our own desires) at times, but instead we need to trust God’s omniscient desire to lead us to what is not only best for us, but for God’s Kingdom.

Questions for reflection:

  1. How does it feel when someone asks you for advice and then decides to not take it?
  2. What is your Egypt? What guidance is God giving you right now?
  3. How can you start listening to the Holy Spirit in your daily life?