He Doesn't Give Up

Jeremiah 4:3-4
This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground
    and do not sow among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire
    because of the evil you have done—
    burn with no one to quench it.

An angry sky loomed overhead.

As we drove, the sky turned gray and the clouds rolled. Tim commented that the sky looked angry. Indeed, it did. No sun peeked through, only gray. The sky darkened the further we drove, and within the hour the clouds burst with torrential rain.

I've been reading the book of Jeremiah, which is not warm and fuzzy. It's full of anguish—God's anguish over Jerusalem and the Israelites. They had turned their back on God and gave their attention to the idols they created. As I was reading, I understood and recognized God's deep feelings for these people.

I write a lot about how much God loves us, and He does, more than we can comprehend. Along with the emotion of love, God feels all the other ones, like anger, frustration, and hurt. He made us in His image, with all the feels, so of course He experiences the same emotions.

God and the Israelites had journeyed together for years. He'd saved them so many times, yet they turned on Him and chose to sin rather than follow God. His righteous wrath was well founded and His heart broke over these people who betrayed Him. Sounds kind of familiar. God sees similar behavior out of people today that He saw from the Israelites, yet even in His anger and hurt, He longs for us to turn to Him and seek forgiveness.

Later in the chapters, He offers to forgive the Israelites if they will repent. He doesn't give up on them regardless of how they made Him feel. God's heart breaks over people, yet He loves fiercely.

Seek God. Turn to Him and give Him your heart.