Stubborn Hearts

 JERIMIAH 5

"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. "-Jerimiah 5:21

STUBBORN HEARTS

In Jeremiah 5 we see Gods righteous heartfelt anger towards the Israelites as they are actively abandoning the blessings the Lord has given them. The account that God gives to us in this chapter makes our hearts burn for him as we feel the pain of betrayal in his words. "How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores." God's beloved people are resisting to give in to him, resisting to repent, resisting to acknowledge they need help.

What areas do you find yourself struggling to give over to the Lord? How are you like the Israelites in this chapter?

God, I pray that you search my heart and find any way in me that I am turning away from you and give me the strength to overcome it. God I love you and I give my heart over to you.

-Isaac Noble

When I read this devotion, it spoke loudly to me. How many times do I walk away from what the Lord has for me? How many times do we try our best to remove ourselves from that special place in our relationship and walk with God? Do we work well with God? In sports, I at times needed to remind myself to not depart from what my coach was saying and trust his view, or even another players. It was hard and many times I believed that I could see or do it better and stubbornly would go my own way. In our walk with the Lord, we can tend to trust our own path more than God's guidance. It is hard to give up our control, our pride, and especially our desires so that they align with His. We may even tell God that we will do all those things and then lose the heart to when we see something unexpected. We betray God when we give promises we don't intend or work to keep. Yes, God is always forgiving and willing to move forward with us even in broken promises, but what promises could we be taking more seriously? What place do we need to realign ourselves with the Lord? Apply what God shows and where He leads to your life and be willing to see through to the end on where it takes you. 

I’m A Bit Behind…Again

While playing in sports, I would shut down when I felt behind. If I noticed someone my age or younger that had a much better skill set, knew more about the game, or had more experience, instead of feeling motivated to work harder, I felt like I lost my chance. In my mind, I could do just as much work, maybe even more, but I would still come up short because they had the head start. As I’m sure some of you have noticed, I’m behind on writing these devotions. I had been struggling to find a place that I could feel motivated to write this out while swimming in my to-do list. I felt awful every time a Monday would pass by, knowing I was letting myself down to the commitment I made but still would stare at a blank page, unable to muster a lesson I learned or Biblical application I needed. There is something to setting a plan and sticking to it, but there is also something to writing as the Holy Spirit leads, not out of necessity. I don’t think either is all wrong or all right. I do think I needed that time with the Lord to hear what He was speaking to me, before I spoke on it to others. It’s kind of like the log in someone’s eye as they speak on the splinter. I needed to identify my log. 

Self reflecting is a hard place to be. It’s uncomfortable. It’s demanding. It’s difficult to be honest and willing with yourself and your own actions and thoughts. I needed to set that time aside with myself, with the Lord. I needed to ask for council on the areas I struggled. I needed accountability for where I was trying to change and grow. I need to keep on seeking that truth in my life and the growth God has for me. I challenge you to set that time aside and let yourself be uncomfortable. Be in the dark place and prepare to grow.

Verses: 

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Would You Fight God If He Came and Told You Himself

In sports, dad always taught me to be a “shot doctor”. When I’d take a shot, he told me to “pause” and ask myself what went wrong and what went right. I would stay standing there, checking if my hips were aligned with the goal, if my hand was in the cookie jar, elbow above eyes, and so on. If I made it, I knew if i made it well, or honestly by accident. If I missed, I knew it was just unlucky or if I made a bad shot. I tend to find myself doing that in my life. I look at where I am in a situation and assess why I’m there, how I’m handling it, what I can change to better serve my purpose. In basketball, when someone else doctored my shot, I became stubborn and only wanted to prove them wrong. Often time I was coachable by my dad and close friends, but others made me feel competitive and challenged. I would begin to shoot worse out of the pressure I put on myself to prove something. As we’ve dealt with all of the things going on, I’ve felt like I’m asking God to doctor my place, my attitude, my reactions…when I feel like I hear an answer, I then reason differently. I try to explain my side or dwell on all the “what-ifs”. I caught myself in this, and thought back to the Bible. I always have been jealous of the Bible characters that got to so clearly experience the Lord. I always said that I would never question God like that if He spoke that to me. I found that for me, I would probably still question if God knew the whole story, or knew my heart in it even if He was right in front of me. Comprehending His all-knowing power is something I fail to have confidence in if I’m honest. I challenge you to ask yourself, would you fight God if He came and answered your questions Himself? Would you trust Him if it wasn’t comfortable or wasn’t what you expected?

Verses:

“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭15‬:‭32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There Are Too Many Stinky Feet

While dad was talking with a nurse, she was wiping down his feet. She jokingly said that he must feel like a big-wig getting his feet washed for him. He replied, “you’re the big-wig. Service is what makes a great person and a great leader”. In the midst of all that has been going on, he remembered how Jesus served first, and helping others up the ladder was much better than stepping on toes and pushing others down to raise yourself. I’ve been challenging myself to be a woman of service in everything I do. Work, sports, friendships…lately life has made it harder. I have struggled to even see where I can help others when I feel so focused and exhausted in my own struggle. While that’s understandable, it’s honestly pitiful of me. Jesus was hanging on a cross and still prayed “Father forgive them” in the midst of it. He still made time for the other man being crucified. He made His struggle an opportunity for service. The crucifixtion was God taking our place, He served us when we could do nothing to truly serve Him. He did not act all high and mighty, better than everyone, but washed feet instead. How can you wash someone’s feet this week? How can you serve? 

“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭40‬ ‭NKJV‬‬