We desperately need to know.
In Jeremiah 23, the Lord addresses two problems among His people: leaders who had failed to faithfully shepherd the people, and prophets who were speaking lies rather than the Word of the Lord.
""Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD." Jeremiah 23:1, 16
Many may have looked at Judah and seen a nation losing its strength, stability, and influence. But there was a far greater problem beneath the surface: spiritual decline. The people had turned away from the Lord and were following the desires of their own hearts.
Could this be happening in our nation today? Could we be in danger of doing something similar today? Could we become so concerned about the decline we see around us that we overlook the spiritual decline within us?
It is more important than ever that we know the Lord and know His Word, not merely as a religious practice, but because we desire to know Him and walk with Him.
When we know His Word and spend time in prayer, our lives begin to be shaped by His truth rather than the shifting desires of our own hearts. We learn to live for His purposes and His mission rather than our own.
Where are your priorities?
What are you giving your attention to each day?
What is shaping your heart and influencing the way you think?
We desperately need to know His Word. We desperately need to walk closely with Him.
Otherwise, we can become vulnerable to the same danger we see in Jeremiah: believing voices that sound good to us because they agree with what our hearts already want.
Father, I pray for my heart, for our hearts. Please burden us for more of You, make us creatures of Your Word. And please help us to see when we are following our own heart instead of Your's. In Jesus name, amen.
-To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.