Caffeinated Crunchy Christian Moms

Read: Jeremiah 1-6

Wow, we really are dumb. You see it in the beginning, then with Israel, and we’re reminded of this again in the book Jeremiah. Honestly, you see it in the world around us today. In Jeremiah 1:1–3 we get very specific details about the timing and setting, and every time I read something like that it hits me that this is real. This is history. This is God working through real people in real time.

Then God says:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” -Jeremiah 1:5

Yes, this was God speaking directly to Jeremiah about his calling, but it also reminds me that God knew each of us too. He knew us before we were born. He created us with purpose, with intention, with a path. That doesn’t mean the path is easy. There’s sin in this world, there are hard things we walk through, but none of it is outside of what He already knows. Even those hard parts can become part of our story and part of our testimony.

In these chapters God called out Israel for their sin and unfaithfulness, but even in that, His heart is still for them. He still loves them.

“Return, faithless Israel … I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful … I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt.” -Jeremiah 3:12–13

I can’t help but think about this like parenting. When my toddler disobeys, lies, or doesn’t listen, I might be angry or frustrated in the moment, but I’m not mad forever. I don’t cast him out. I take a deep breath, I correct him, I teach him, and I forgive him because I love him. Yes, his little three-year-old disobedience is nothing compared to the weight of sin in the world, but God also reminds us that sin is sin. And still, He responds with mercy.

God is the same way with us. We are His children. We are very stubborn and disobedient children! Just like Israel, we see His goodness. We hear the stories. We experience His provision. But still, we turn away. We put our hope and love in things that aren’t Him.

“Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.” -Jeremiah 5:21

They literally saw and heard God moving and still chose not to follow Him. But if we’re honest, we do the same thing.

In Jeremiah 6:16–17, we know that God lays it out so clearly. He tells us exactly what to do. He gives us two paths at a crossroads and says this is the good way; this is where you’ll find rest. And what do we do? We still choose the other way. Why? Because we’re stubborn and think we think we know better. Obviously though, we don’t.

I am thinking of toddlers again. They throw fits over things that they don’t understand. I remember telling my cousin’s daughter, Evalyn, that she couldn’t play in the road. She just wanted to play there so badly, and I had to stop her because it obviously wasn’t safe. How did she respond? In full two-year-old fashion, she lost it. Threw herself down on the grass kicking her legs wildly, yelling, and crying. Full meltdown. Because in her mind, she knew what she wanted, and she couldn’t understand why I was saying no. We do the exact same thing with God. Maybe not the kicking and screaming part … or maybe. We push back. We resist. We think He’s holding out on us, when really, He’s protecting us.

God sees what we can’t see. He knows what we don’t know. The path that He’s calling us to is actually the one that leads to life and rest. But because of the free will that He gave us we have to be the one to choose it. So, choose it. Choose God! Even when it’s hard, when it’s not what you want, when you think you know best, when you’re emotionally exhausted. He is there and he wants to welcome you home with open arms and an abundance of love.

Discussion Questions

1. Where in your life might you be choosing your own way(s) over God’s?
2. Do you trust that a “no” from God is in your best interest? Why or why not?

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