For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command:  Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.  Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.  But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.  They went backward and not forward.  Jeremiah 7:22-25  NIV

One of my favorite scripture passages is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,”  declares the Lord,  “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”    God promises us good things.  When you hear that verse quoted, you rarely hear verse 10 quoted before it.  In verse 10 God tells them that when seventy years are completed in Babylon, He will come to them and fulfill His promise.  They were taken into captivity in Babylon.  When seventy years are completed?  That’s a long time, right?  Well, remember we are talking about the people that took 40 years to make a 14 day trip.  Israel has seen God work some mighty miracles.  But they are a stubborn bunch.  The Bible mentions how stubborn they are in several passages.  In todays scripture, Jeremiah 7:24 tells us that they did not listen to God’s commands and walked backward not forward.

When we walk with the Lord and acknowledge Him in all that we do, He keeps our path straight (Proverbs 3:6).  God wants good things for us.  He wants us to prosper and not be harmed.  But He is a just God and a God of righteousness.  He will not overlook our sinful behavior.  Way back in Deuteronomy He told the Israelites that there would be blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28).  God never promises that we will go unpunished when we are disobedient.  God’s chosen people were the Israelites, but they habitually turned against Him and chose to worship idols.  They had some serious problems with being obedient.  They just had a hard time obeying the rules.  They lived over 400 years in captivity as slaves in Egypt for their disobedience.  Now God is telling them that they have 70 years to go in Babylon.  They just didn’t learn.  They followed the same pattern over and over.  They would sin, be punished, cry out to God, repent, be rescued, repeat.  If you don’t believe me, just read your bible.  It happened over and over again.

Sound familiar?  Now I’m not saying that if you are facing some troubling times that God is punishing you, but God does punish us when we are disobedient.  He also uses hard times to mature us as Christians just as we talked earlier in the week about how he walked through the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  But we know in our heart if we are facing a punishment or if we are being refined.  When we face punishment, it is because we have allowed our sin to separate us from God.  When we are being refined, we feel his presence with us every step of the way.

I have been where the Israelites were many times.  I used to follow that same pattern.   I used to sin, cry out to God, repent, be rescued, repeat.  I would take one step forward and two steps back.  Why not try that.  The next time you need to walk from one place to the other, even if it is just from room to room in your house.  Take one step forward and two steps back.  Now you just read that and thought, “Why would I do that? That’s just crazy!”  Right?  Of course, it’s crazy.  I’m no math whiz, but even I could figure out that if you took one step forward and two steps back that you would be going backwards.  Could you image being at work and taking one step forward and two steps back going from office to office.  Your co-workers would think you’re not wrapped too tight.

So, why do we do this with God?  We realize our sin, we repent, we promise we are going to do better and for a short time we do, but then we fall right back into our old sinful behaviors.  I know I’ve been there time and time again.

Are you tired of the same old pattern?  Are you tired of going round and round that same old mountain and getting nowhere?  Are you tired of taking one step forward and two steps back.  Well, you can change this by allowing God to direct your path.  Allow God to walk with you and keep you on the straight and narrow path (Matthew 17).

Now, perhaps you are reading this and you feel as though you have begun your walk with God and you have been walking on the narrow path.  Our scripture passage tells us that when we seek God with our whole heart, that we will find Him.  It tells us that we will call on Him and pray to Him and He will listen.

Today if you feel as though you are in a pattern of living that is getting you nowhere. Turn to God, trust your steps to Him.  Allow Him to direct you on the straight path.  Now, perhaps you have turned to God and you are trusting Him.  If that is the case, know that He is right there with you.  If you feel that your feet are being held to the fire, know that He is walking every step with you.  Know that He has good plans for you.  God wants the best for each and every one of us. Trust Him to guide you.

Have a great day!