Our Backsliding Breaks His Heart

Devotion

Jeremiah 2:2-3

“The word of the Lord came to me:  ‘Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,” declares the Lord.

Israel was His chosen one, His first family on earth. All He wanted in exchange was for them to be made Holy and demonstrate God’s holiness on earth so other nations might come to Him too. We see that God referred to them as His bride because He considered the covenant He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt was in the form of a marriage contract. He was exasperated when they violated His agreement with them. Yet if you look at those words He said to Jeremiah, they are also heart’s wrenching. I wonder if you can hear His broken heart through those words. Can you feel His pain of having been rejected? Even though they had rejected Him, they played the harlot with other gods; their hearts are filled with pretence toward Him as if He could not see they did not want Him. Yet, He was still pleading for them to return to Him.

Woe to anyone of us who do not cease the opportunity to make their lives right with Him. A time is coming where we will not be protected from His wrath which carries the same intensity as His love for us. Some of us might think this is will never be our case but several books in the Bible we are reminded that: “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled” None of us are exempt to backsliding. We are always one step away from tragedies in our lives to stray from Him. When I say tragedies, I mean anything that causes us to take our eyes off of Him. It could be a man, a woman, and conflict in the family, low self esteem issues, financial problems, marriage breakdown, disappointments and so forth. Satan is always one foothold away from messing up with us. We have to learn to bear it all in His name. Learn to be obedient so that we can live this life in His will for us. Learn to live the holy life He commanded us to and learn to remain in His presence at all times.

PRAY: Father God I pray that we learn to focus on you alone, our passion and love for you would never extinguish. Be the fire in our hearts so that we can end well as we wait with bated breath for your return Lord.

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