10 'If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. 12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.' 13 "However, if you say, 'We will not stay in this land,' and so disobey the LORD your God, 14 and if you say, 'No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,' 15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, 16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.
Jeremiah 42:10-16 (NIV) and if you say, 'No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,'
When I was praying to discover whether my family and I should stay in the church where we are, this was the passage that I was directed to. This was during a time of transition when our church was in the process of being merged with another.
What's so significant? Just as God warned the Israelites to remain in Judah and not escape to Egypt, He reminded me not to leave my church and escape elsewhere. I would find similar problems elsewhere – there was no escape from the the problems – and He had a plan for me and my family where we were. This was confirmed in multiple ways, from the kids saying how much fun they were having in their Sunday school classes, to the love my wife had (and continues to have) for the older women in the congregation, to the relationships that I forged with other men in the church. It was yet another reminder that God will speak loudly and clearly when we ask Him for guidance.
