Jeremiah 4: ³ This is what the Eternal now says to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.

Eternal One: Break up the hard, untilled soil! It is a waste to plant seeds among thorns. ⁴ Circumcise yourselves to Me; cut away the foreskin of your hearts, men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Remove all that stands between us, and devote yourselves fully to Me, Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire against your wicked ways.

 

circumcise our hearts... cut away the foreskin of our hearts... remove all that stands between God and us... and devote ourselves fully to Him...

if I am honest... many times I have thought I have devoted myself completely to God... and most of those times I was wrong... in truth.. the most devoted times I have had to God in my life were times when I had nothing else... and I wonder.. why is that? why is it so hard for God to be first in our lives when we have other people close to us or we have other things that vie for our attention... in our mind God is still first... but is He really?

if He were.. I doubt that we.. like the israelites... would continue to be knocked down and knocked over all the time... if God were really first in our lives.. wouldn't our lives be far more peaceful and less stressful.... that is one of the promises of the bible.. that God will shelter us from evil...

that is not to say there will never be troubles.. but I really doubt our entire lives would be trouble after trouble after trouble...

 

I think somehow we have to learn to put God first and keep Him there... while having others in our lives too... I think it is probably very hurtful to God that we keep on putting other people before Him.. yet He is the only faithful One we have ever known....