When Our Hearts Depart From The Lord

God is pretty blunt at times. I know Jeremiah was the recipient of a lot of abuse, because he was chosen by God to deliver His message in a very dark time in the history of Judah and Jerusalem. However, he was faithful to tell the people just what God said about those whose hearts depart from the Lord, because they make the choice to trust in people and the flesh, instead of trusting in the Lord.(Jeremiah 17:5) It is a terrible mistake to make, but unfortunately, it is easy for us to do.

It is easier to trust in ourselves than in other people, because we see that people often let us down. Therefore, we decide to assert ourselves and to trust in our own strength and intellect. This is still trusting in a person and not in the Lord. It never goes well, because the human heart is deceitful above all things.(Jeremiah 17:9) If we decide to follow our hearts, we will go in the wrong direction.

However, it is easier to trust in other people, instead of trusting the Lord, because we can see and touch people, but we can't see the Lord. This leads many people to think we can't really know the Lord and have a close relationship with Him. That is very wrong. God is a person, and we can be closer to Him than to any human, because He is always with us, once we come to know Him. Please, don't make the mistake of following people, they will lead you in the wrong way, unless they are trusting the Lord. Then, they will tell you to trust the Lord, instead of trusting them.

Finally, it is easy to put our trust in the flesh, in that we think the physical and financial things are the most important things in life. After all, we have to have money to live, and we need to be healthy. However, remember God is the one who owns everything. If we need money, He is the one to go to and to trust for money. He is the one who made us and designed our human bodies, so He knows what we need. He says exercise is good, but godliness is what really profits us. Therefore, we need to hear this word from the Lord in Jeremiah, and place our trust firmly in the Lord, so we will not be cursed, but blessed in every way.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 18-20.