Don't Break God's Heart
Hear the word of the LORD, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel.
This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your ancestors find in Me, that they strayed so far from Me?
They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?'
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable." Jeremiah 2:4-7
This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your ancestors find in Me, that they strayed so far from Me?
They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?'
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable." Jeremiah 2:4-7
God experiences tremendous pain when rejected because He is a great lover and the purest example of faithfulness. God is hurt when we forget about His faithfulness to us and turn our backs on Him.
God's transparency in expressing pain is quite astonishing. He bares out His pain as He meticulously makes His case for how badly He has been treated by His children. He carefully paints a clear but sobering picture of how wonderful He has been to His children compared to the several ill-treatment and infidelities He has suffered at their hands. He makes it clear that His heart is broken. Listen to His tearful words again: "What fault did your ancestors find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? Can you see the near-human pain God is expressing?
Perhaps, the most astonishing thing of all is God's willingness to take His children back no matter how far they have strayed from Him or even how unfaithful they have been! As the great lover He is, He is always willing to forgive and reconcile. So, in spite of all the charges He leveled against Israel, He still extended a hand of reconciliation: "If you, Israel, will return, then return to me" (Jeremiah 4:1). God looks for repentance and reconciliation before exacting justice through His wrath. The Scripture makes it clear that "judgment is His strange work."
As you relate to God, can I challenge you to be faithful to Him? Can I remind you that He is the greatest lover of your soul? Can I remind you that He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother? Can I remind you that He has promised that even if our mother and father forsake us, He will never forget us because we are the apple of His eye?
Let's be motivated to spend time with this great lover of our souls and resolve never to break His heart through disobedience and unfaithfulness. The rewards of sincerely loving God are simply astonishing. It causes us to walk under open heavens of blessings all the time.
Don't break God's heart through unfaithfulness.
God's transparency in expressing pain is quite astonishing. He bares out His pain as He meticulously makes His case for how badly He has been treated by His children. He carefully paints a clear but sobering picture of how wonderful He has been to His children compared to the several ill-treatment and infidelities He has suffered at their hands. He makes it clear that His heart is broken. Listen to His tearful words again: "What fault did your ancestors find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? Can you see the near-human pain God is expressing?
Perhaps, the most astonishing thing of all is God's willingness to take His children back no matter how far they have strayed from Him or even how unfaithful they have been! As the great lover He is, He is always willing to forgive and reconcile. So, in spite of all the charges He leveled against Israel, He still extended a hand of reconciliation: "If you, Israel, will return, then return to me" (Jeremiah 4:1). God looks for repentance and reconciliation before exacting justice through His wrath. The Scripture makes it clear that "judgment is His strange work."
As you relate to God, can I challenge you to be faithful to Him? Can I remind you that He is the greatest lover of your soul? Can I remind you that He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother? Can I remind you that He has promised that even if our mother and father forsake us, He will never forget us because we are the apple of His eye?
Let's be motivated to spend time with this great lover of our souls and resolve never to break His heart through disobedience and unfaithfulness. The rewards of sincerely loving God are simply astonishing. It causes us to walk under open heavens of blessings all the time.
Don't break God's heart through unfaithfulness.
Prayer: Lord, I am sorry for the many times I have broken your heart through disobedience and unfaithfulness. Please help me to turn a new leaf in my relationship with you. Amen.