Today’s Reading, Jeremiah 7-9
Focal Scripture: Jeremiah 7:24 “Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.”
Being self aware makes a big difference in our lives. Examining what you’re good and bad at in your life will help you go a long way. We all have skills that push us forward and we all have deficits that pull us backwards. The hard part for most people is that they will not do the hard work and examine these strengths and weaknesses in their lives.
That is where we find our reading today. The nation of Israel had a difficult time listening to the instruction of the Lord. Excuses were rampant and they believed they knew more than God. They followed their own heart. This mindset constantly pulled the nation backward and kept them from the good promises that God have them.
As believers we live the same way. We know the expectations given by God. We know that he is calling us to be different and to follow him. However, in true human fashion we tell God we know more than he does. We become stubborn and follow after our own evil hearts. This causes us to stumble and not follow after the Lord.
The fix for this is to know ourselves and the desire to live this way. We all think we are better than we are and none of us like to be wrong. Most of us believe we have everything figured out therefore nobody can tell us what to do. The challenge we have is to check our desires and wants with the Lord. Do they match up with the Lord and his commands. Or are we going backward and not forward.
Today let us know ourselves and live different. Let us learn from the Israelites and not duplicate their mistakes. We can do better if we submit to his will for our lives.
Tomorrow I plan on reading Jeremiah 10-13
