“You’re the One, O God, who does this. So You’re the One for whom we wait. You made it all. You do it all.” (Jeremiah 14:22 MSG)
Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet because his nation, the people of God, had wandered way off course. They’d allowed idols to seep in. Their neighboring countries all crafted false gods of stone or wood or metal and had slipped them over Judah’s borders. The people of God had bowed to Baal, to Chemosh and Molech. They’d burnt their babies alive and offered their bodies in sex & religion rituals. And the One True God had brought about drought. Physical drought: “They went to the cisterns, but the cisterns were dry, they came back with empty buckets, wringing their hands, shaking their heads.” (Jeremiah 14:3 MSG) But more concerning still, spiritual drought: “When they skip their meals in order to pray, I won’t listen to a thing they say. When they redouble their prayers, bringing all kinds of offerings from their herds and crops, I won’t accept them.” (Jeremiah 14:12 MSG)
The people of God had not forgotten how to pray or make offerings. No, they were well-practiced at such empty arts: petitioning false gods and bringing sacrifices to pagan temples. Repentance was the critical piece they had misplaced.
One time my husband and I were waiting with a friend through her husband’s surgery. It was scheduled to be a long procedure, so I’d brought along a puzzle to distract us and hurry along the hours. We’d spent from early morning to early afternoon hunched over this slow-assembling picture. My husband lost interest early on, but my friend and I kept at it, working until our backs and necks protested the effort. We were determined to finish, as if our puzzle would somehow symbolize the surgery’s success, complete and whole again. We got to the last blank space and realization sunk in: a piece was missing! Somehow in the eight hour waiting room beat, we’d lost a piece and the puzzle was unfinished. A gaping hole allowed the table to peek through and taunt our carelessness. After significant outcry, my husband sheepishly produced the piece from his pocket. It turns out he had palmed it hours previous, relishing the last piece satisfaction but lacking the patience.
Worshiping our One True God without repentance is a lot like that unfinished puzzle on the waiting room side table. We’ll never experience the fullness of Divine relationship if we can’t bring ourselves to repent, if we can’t recognize our sin and bring it to our Savior in godly sorrow.
“We admit, O God, how badly we lived, and our ancestors, how bad they were. We’ve sinned, they’ve sinned. We’ve all sinned against You!”
(Jeremiah 14:20 MSG)
Repentance was the missing piece for Judah and it might be the missing piece for many modern Christians. We’ve shrunk God Almighty to a God so loving He could not demand justice. We’ve reduced His Word to the parts we like best. We’ve lost sight of the fact that God the Father is also Yahweh, the God who’s name is too holy to speak. He is love and He is justice, He is I AM and He still requires repentance.
As fallen people, we’ve got to get to place where we can recognize the gap between what God’s Word says and how we live our lives. We must have the courage to confess it before we can address our missteps and bring ourselves into alignment with His instruction. We do this once, at the threshold of belief, but we don’t stop there. We search our hearts daily; “Lord, how have I disappointed You? Where have I fallen short? What did I miss that You wanted me to say or do or be?”
Relationship with the Divine begins when we can recognize our depravity apart from Him, when we long to be restored to Him. We walk this out daily and our friendship with God deepens. We won’t get very far into this life-giving relationship before we realize how much more He has to offer than deaf and mute idols.
Almighty God, lead us in repentance; initially but also repeatedly. Let us never forget this crucial piece in the picture of Your plan for us. Thank You for sending Your Son to the cross so that we could be forgiven, welcomed into the family of God as sons and daughters. May we never forget what it cost. We are so grateful to be afforded right relationship with You. Amen.