The Dwelling Place Bible Podcast for Busy Moms | Entrusted Ministries

What happens when following God doesn't lead to the life you expected?

In today's chronological Bible reading, Stephanie Hickox walks through Jeremiah 41–46 and explores a difficult but deeply encouraging question: What should our expectations be when life is hard, our prayers aren't answered the way we hoped, and faithfulness costs us more than we anticipated?

Jeremiah's story reminds us that God's presence is not a promise of an easy life. Sometimes obedience leads to sacrifice, disappointment, uncertainty, and suffering. But through it all, God Himself remains our hope.

And that truth has profound implications for Christian motherhood.

In This Episode

Stephanie explores:

• Why Judah's remnant appeared to sincerely seek God's direction—but ultimately refused to obey it
• What Jeremiah 42 teaches us about seeking God's will with a surrendered heart
• The danger of asking God for direction when we've already decided what we want to do
• Why God's people chose earthly security in Egypt instead of trusting God's supernatural protection
• God's repeated warning: "Do not fear... for I am with you"
• How God sees the motivations and intentions of our hearts
• Why God's patience and persistence in calling His people to repentance reveal His character
• The shocking response of Judah's remnant when they continued worshiping the Queen of Heaven
• Why outward religious reform doesn't necessarily mean inward heart transformation
• Baruch's honest cry: "Woe is me!"
• What God teaches Baruch about unrealistic expectations and seeking "great things" for himself
• Why following Christ may be much harder than we expected
• How Jeremiah and Baruch demonstrate faithful endurance even when obedience doesn't result in comfort
• How these chapters challenge us to examine our own expectations for marriage, motherhood, family, home, and life
• Why our ultimate hope isn't a comfortable life—but the presence of God and the glory of Christ

Are We Really Willing to Obey God?

One of the most sobering moments in today's reading happens when the remnant approaches Jeremiah and promises:

"Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God."

It sounds wonderful.

But when God gives them an answer they don't like, they reject it.

They had already decided they wanted to go to Egypt. They wanted safety on their own terms.

And that raises an important question for us:

Do we seek God's will because we're willing to obey—or because we're hoping God will approve what we've already decided?

As Christian moms, it's easy to do the same thing.

We can ask God for wisdom about our children, marriage, finances, education, technology, friendships, or family decisions while quietly hoping He will confirm the answer we've already chosen.

Jeremiah reminds us that true surrender means being willing to obey God even when His answer isn't the one we wanted.

When Motherhood Doesn't Look Like You Expected

Perhaps the most relatable portion of today's reading is Baruch's cry:

"Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest."

Baruch had faithfully served Jeremiah for years. He had written God's words, endured opposition, and remained beside the prophet.

And yet eventually he reached a point where he wondered:

Is this really how my life is going to go?

Can you relate?

Maybe motherhood doesn't look like you expected.

Maybe your marriage doesn't look like you expected.

Maybe your children are struggling in ways you never anticipated.

Maybe the sacrifices you've made haven't produced the results you hoped for.

Maybe following Jesus has cost you more than you imagined.

God's answer to Baruch is striking: stop seeking great things for yourself.

That isn't a cruel rebuke. It's a loving correction of his expectations.

God doesn't promise Baruch an easy life.

He promises him life and His faithfulness in the midst of hardship.

Our Expectations vs. God's Glory

This is where Jeremiah becomes profoundly relevant to Christian parenting.

We can quietly build expectations around our children:

• My children will always make wise choices.
• If I parent faithfully, they will respond faithfully.
• My family will look a certain way.
• My marriage will become easier.
• My home will finally feel peaceful.
• If I sacrifice enough, life will eventually become comfortable.

But Scripture doesn't promise us those things.

Our calling isn't to create the life we imagined.

Our calling is to glorify Christ with the life He has actually given us.

That changes the way we approach motherhood.

Instead of asking, "How can I make my family turn out the way I want?" we can begin asking:

"Lord, how can I faithfully represent You in the circumstances You've entrusted to me?"

Run to God First

The remnant of Judah was terrified.

They wanted protection.

And God Himself told them:

"Do not fear... for I am with you to save you and to deliver you."

Yet they chose Egypt.

How often do we do something similar?

When our children are sick, do we pray first—or immediately reach for every other solution?

When we're overwhelmed, do we run to God's Word—or our phones?

When we're worried about our children, do we entrust them to the Lord—or try to control every outcome?

Earthly wisdom isn't inherently wrong. But Jeremiah challenges us to consider where we run first.

The God who says, "I am with you," is worthy of our first response.

What Does Faithfulness Look Like When Life Is Hard?

Jeremiah and Baruch didn't receive comfortable lives because they were faithful.

They received difficult assignments.

They experienced rejection, hardship, imprisonment, displacement, and grief.

And yet they kept going.

Their lives remind us that faithfulness is not measured by comfort.

Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is simply keep obeying God today.

Keep praying.

Keep opening His Word.

Keep loving your children.

Keep disciplining with grace.

Keep speaking truth.

Keep surrendering your expectations.

Keep trusting that God's presence is enough.

Because our hope isn't ultimately found in getting the life we wanted.

Our hope is found in Jesus.

A Word of Encouragement for the Weary Mom

If you feel like you've been laying down your life more than you expected, this episode is for you.

If motherhood has required sacrifices you didn't anticipate, this episode is for you.

If you're disappointed by your circumstances, your children, your marriage, or even yourself, Jeremiah 41–46 offers a better expectation:

Christ is worthy of your whole life, and His presence is enough.

We may not understand everything God is doing.

We may not receive the circumstances we hoped for.

But we can pray, as Paul did, that our greatest hope and expectation would be that Christ is glorified in and through us.

And that is a beautiful legacy to leave our children.

Today's Chronological Bible Reading

Jeremiah 41–46

Key Scriptures

• Jeremiah 42:5–6 — Willingness to obey God's direction
• Jeremiah 42:10–12 — God's promise of protection and presence
• Jeremiah 42:19–22 — The warning against going to Egypt
• Jeremiah 44:4 — God's persistent call to repentance
• Jeremiah 45:2–5 — God's message to weary Baruch
• Matthew 16:25 — Losing our lives for Christ
• Philippians 1:20–21 — Christ glorified in our lives

A Prayer for Moms Who Are Disappointed

Stephanie closes by praying for moms who are struggling to surrender their expectations for their marriages, parenting, homes, appearances, and futures.

She prays that we would learn to run to God's strength first, surrender our own agendas, and desire above everything else that Jesus Christ would be glorified in and through our lives.

And she prays that our children would see that kind of surrendered faith in us and learn to treasure God's glory above the temporary pleasures of this world.

Listen to The Dwelling Place

The Dwelling Place Bible Podcast for Busy Moms from Entrusted Ministries is designed to help Christian moms read and understand God's Word through a chronological Bible reading plan while discovering biblical wisdom for everyday motherhood.

If you're trying to stay consistent in Bible reading while raising children, join Stephanie as she walks through Scripture and connects God's Word to the realities of Christian parenting, biblical motherhood, family life, and faithful discipleship.

You may not get the life you expected. But you can have the presence of the God who never leaves you.

Commentaries Most Consulted: Moody, MacArthur, Matthew Henry

This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox, and as we near the

end of Jeremiah, focusing on chapters

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41 through 46, I kind of want to

summarize it by saying more bad stuff

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happens to more bad people, and more

bad stuff happens to good people, too.

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Yet even in the trials and tribulation,

the Lord kindly reminds us what our

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expectation and hope should be in

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When Zedekiah, the last king of Judah,

is carried off to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar

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puts Gedaliah in his place as governor.

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A man named Ishmael kills

Gedaliah and everyone with him.

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Though this Ishmael

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is over a thousand years removed from

Abraham's son Ishmael, he seems to

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be just as battle hungry as he was.

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Next, 80 men appear grieving

what has happened to Jerusalem.

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They're mourning and long to

bring offerings to the temple.

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Ishmael deceptively welcomes

them, feigning his own mourning,

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but he slaughters 70 of them,

putting them in a cistern.

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Ishmael's evil anarchy meets resistance,

but unfortunately when Johanan tries

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to take him down, Ishmael escapes.

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Johanan goes to Jeremiah, and as I

read our main scripture for today,

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I want you to try to discern,

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are they being sincere in

seeking the Lord or not?

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Thankfully, as we keep reading, the

Lord will make that clear for us

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All the people from the least to the

greatest came near and said to Jeremiah

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the prophet, " Let our plea for mercy

come before you, and pray to the Lord

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your God for us, for all this remnant,

because we are left with but a few,

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as your eyes see us, that the Lord

your God may show us the way we should

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go and the thing that we should do."

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Jeremiah the prophet said

to them, " I have heard you.

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Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God

according to your request, and whatever

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the Lord answers you, I will tell you.

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I will keep nothing back from you."

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Then they said to Jeremiah, " May

the Lord be a true and faithful

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witness against us if we do not act

according to all the word with which

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the Lord your God sends you to us.

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Whether it is good or bad, we will

obey the voice of the Lord our God

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to whom we are sending you, that

it may be well with us when we obey

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the voice of the Lord our God."

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At the end of ten days, the word

of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

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Then he summoned Johanan the son of

Kareah and all the commanders of the

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forces who were with him, and all the

people from the least to the greatest,

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and said to them, Thus says the Lord,

the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to

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present your plea for mercy before him.

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If you will remain in the land, then I

will build you up and not pull you down.

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I will plant you and not pluck

you up, for I relent of the

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disaster that I did to you.

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Do not fear the king of

Babylon, of whom you are afraid.

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Do not fear him, declares the

Lord, for I am with you to save you

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and to deliver you from his hand.

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I will grant you mercy, that he

may have mercy on you and let

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you remain in your own land.

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But if you say, 'We will not remain

in this land,' disobeying the voice of

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the Lord your God and saying, ' No, we

will go to the land of Egypt, where we

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shall not see war or hear the sound of

the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and

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we will dwell there,' then hear the

word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah.

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Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of

Israel: If you set your faces to enter

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Egypt and go to live there, then the sword

that you fear shall overtake you there in

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the land of Egypt, and the famine of which

you are afraid shall follow close after

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you to Egypt, and there you shall die.

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All the men who set their faces to go

to Egypt to live there, shall die by

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the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.

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They shall have no remnant

or survivor from the disaster

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that I will bring upon them.

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For thus says the Lord of Hosts, the

God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath

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were poured out on the inhabitants of

Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured

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out on you when you go to Egypt.

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You shall become an execration,

a horror, a curse, and a taunt.

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You shall see this place no more.

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The Lord has said to you, O remnant

of Judah, " Do not go to Egypt.

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Know for a certainty that I have

warned you this day, that you have

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gone astray at the cost of your lives.

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For you sent me to the Lord your God,

saying, Pray for us to the Lord our

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God, and whatever the Lord our God

says, declare to us and we will do it.

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And I have this day declared it

to you, but you have not obeyed

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the voice of the Lord your God in

anything that he sent me to tell you.

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Now therefore, know for a certainty

that you shall die by the sword,

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by famine, and by pestilence in the

place where you desire to go to live.

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When Jeremiah finished speaking to all

the people all these words of the Lord

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their God, with which the Lord their

God had sent him to them, Azariah the

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son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of

Kareah and all the insolent men said

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to Jeremiah, " You are telling a lie.

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The Lord our God did not send you to

say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there.'

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But Baruch the son of Neriah has sent

you to us to deliver us into the hand

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of the Chaldeans, that they may kill

us or take us into exile in Babylon."

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So Johanan the son of Kareah and all

the commanders of the forces and all

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the people did not obey the voice of

the Lord to remain in the land of Judah.

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But Johanan the son of Kareah and all

the commanders of the forces took all the

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remnant of Judah who had returned to live

in the land of Judah from all the nations

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to which they had been driven, the men,

the women, the children, the princesses,

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and every person the captain of the guard,

had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

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son of Shaphan, also Jeremiah the

prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.

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And they came into the land of Egypt; for

they did not obey the voice of the LORD

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I know that that's a longer passage,

but I thought it was so shocking that

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initially they truly seemed to be sincere.

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Didn't you feel like, "Yay!

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Someone finally gets it.

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Someone's going to honor the Lord"?

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It's just my assumption, but perhaps

the Lord took 10 days to give word to

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Jeremiah so that the true intentions

and motivations of their heart would be

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revealed Even though every word that

God has declared has been fulfilled,

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they still want to rely on earthly power

instead of his supernatural strength.

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It's really easy to look down our

noses at it, but the last time

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your kiddo got sick, was your first

response to pray or to reach for

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a home remedy or call the doctor?

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That's just one simple example, but how

often do we look to earthly solutions

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instead of asking for help from a God

that so deeply wants to walk alongside us?

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And I'm so thankful that in this

situation, I did not have to judge

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the intentions of these people

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and that God could see right through it

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He knew exactly what they were doing,

and that's why I'm so in awe that in

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verse 11, God once again said, " Do

not fear him, for I am with you to save

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you and to deliver you from his hand."

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He offers his presence even though

he knows he will be rejected.

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the availability of

our Lord is astounding.

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May we never take it for granted

because there will be a limit,

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just as there was with these

people that chose to go to Egypt.

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Unfortunately, Jeremiah and Baruch

are taken there against their will

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We witness God's heart and his

investment in the people in 44:4.

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" Yet I persistently sent to you all my

servants the prophets saying, ' Oh, do

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not do this abomination that I hate!'"

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It has an exclamation point,

Which is rare when we have a

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quotation of the Lord's words.

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His persistence and vigilance

leaves the people with no excuse.

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They are guilty.

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They continue to rebel, and it's to these

Judeans that flee to Egypt that God says,

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" Your wives have been making offerings to

other gods, and you've just stood by."

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Instead of confronting their passive

leadership and committing to be faithful

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to the one true God, They double back

and say, " We're going to keep making

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offerings to the Queen of Heaven.

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It actually seems like things started to

go wrong when we started following you."

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What they're claiming is that once King

Josiah started all his reforms and the

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people started to follow God, that's

when things started to go bad for Judah

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So they decide to go back

to worshiping the other gods

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and see how it goes for them.

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at this point, it's been made clear to

us that Josiah's reforms were effective

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outwardly, but for many people,

it didn't penetrate their hearts.

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And that's why when we read 44,

verses 26 and 27, we recognize

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how justified the Lord is.

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" Therefore, hear the word of

the Lord, all you of Judah who

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dwell in the land of Egypt.

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' Behold, I have sworn by my great name,'

says the Lord, ' that my name shall

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no more be invoked by the mouth of any

man of Judah in all the land of Egypt.

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saying, "As the Lord God lives,

behold, I am watching over them

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for disaster, and not for good.

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All the men of Judah who are

in the land of Egypt shall be

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consumed by the sword and by famine

until there is an end of them

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God will not be mocked.

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And this God who earlier said through

Jeremiah that when we call to him,

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he will hear and answer us, he has

set a limit and a boundary to their

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manipulative and deceptive ways

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And once again, we can appreciate

that God sees to the heart

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because there are two men in Egypt

that did not choose to be there

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God continues to be

attentive to their cry.

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Chapter 45 is brief, but what we

witness in Jeremiah and Baruch is

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incredibly applicable for you and I

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If we look at the dating of this

section, it would actually have been

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chronologically placed in chapter

36, but perhaps Jeremiah included

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it here so that those being exiled

could relate to Baruch's despair

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The word that Jeremiah the prophet

spoke to Baruch, the son of Neriah,

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when he wrote these words in a book

at the dictation of Jeremiah, in

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the fourth year of Jehoiakim,

the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

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Thus says the Lord, the God

of Israel, to you, O Baruch.

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You said, "Woe is me!

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For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain.

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I am weary with my groaning,

and I find no rest."

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Thus shall you say to him, " Thus

says the Lord, ' Behold, what I have

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built I am breaking down, and what

I have planted I am plucking up.

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This is the whole land

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And do you seek great things for yourself?

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Seek them not.

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For behold, I am bringing disaster

upon all flesh, declares the Lord.

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But I will give you your life

as a prize of war in all the

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places to which you may go

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Time and time again, we've read the words

of Jeremiah and the grief he was enduring

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by faithfully delivering God's message

to a crooked and rebellious generation.

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There's a drawing created by artist

Gustave Doré that shows Baruch in a

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prison cave with Jeremiah, faithfully

inscribing all the words the Lord

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was giving him, even as Jeremiah was

despairingly crying out to the Lord.

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He has been a steadfast and

reliable companion for decades.

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But here we're shown a moment of

weakness as he questions, " God, is

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this really how my life is going to go?"

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Uh, don't leave me hanging here, but can

you relate to Baruch's woe is me feelings?

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Many days following Christ seems much

harder than I expected it to be when

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I was younger And that's why I need

to keep coming back to the Word of God

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because God corrects his perspective

Reminding him, "Your expectations are off.

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Stop seeking great things for yourself."

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He does promise to give him life,

but it doesn't really sound that

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Baruch and Jeremiah are living

comfortable, enjoyable lives

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I believe that they have incredible

blessings in heaven, but on this earth,

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their job was to make much of the Lord

and to not expect that it would equate to

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comfort or happiness for them It reminds

me of Jesus' words, " Whoever lays

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down his life for my sake will find it."

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and Paul's words in Philippians,

"My every hope and expectation

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is that Christ be glorified."

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If you're struggling because you

find yourself laying down your life

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more than you expected, I wanna

pray with you and for you that

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God would give you the strength to

endure joyfully in His presence.

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Heavenly Father, we are in awe

of the way You continue to offer

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Your presence and Your blessing to

people who repeatedly rejected You

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we long to be exceedingly different

to be marked by the quickness of the

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way that we turn to you May we run

to your strength First and foremost,

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rather than worldly wisdom, we pray

our expectations would be pure and

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righteous before you, that our every

hope and expectation would be that Jesus

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Christ is glorified in and through us.

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Often, we struggle to lay down our hopes

for our own lives, our marriages, our

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parenting, our homes, our appearances.

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We face disappointment and despair on

this earth, but we thank you once again

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that you dwell with us through it all.

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And Lord, we praise you that your presence

is truly all that can satisfy us as you

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purify our desires and our motivations

we ask that our example would be

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contagious to our families May our kids

learn from a young age to throw off the

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temptations and pleasures of this world.

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May you give them a maturity and

understanding that your glory is our

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greatest and most delightful aim.

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Thank you, Jesus, that you

offer us yourself here and now,

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and also the hope of heaven

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It's in your name we pray.

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Amen.