The Knee Jerk Devotional

October 25, 2023

Jeremiah 2:29-37

Photo of a thinking emoji by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

“Day after day after day they never give me a thought.”

Typically when our family starts out on a road trip we say a prayer. We pray that God would get us to where we are going safely. We genuinely pray. We are earnest. There is a desire on our part to entrust the drive to God and we want to arrive safely.

As far as I can tell God has answered every one of these prayers by getting us to and fro safely.

I can only think of twice when we thanked God for getting us there safely. Both times were when we experienced really bad weather. The times that the trips were uneventful, I don't think we acknowledged God's hand at all.

When we are going through difficult seasons we often wonder, “where is God?” One of the writers of the psalms cries out to God asking God to “wake up!” When things are going bad we think about God all the time.

It's odd, when things are going pretty well we don't think about God much at all.

In Jeremiah 2:29-37 God calls out the people for not ever giving God a thought.

I find that strange because the people were practicing Temple worship. They were making sacrifices and celebrating the feasts. They were hearing the scrolls read. God-talk was everywhere and all the time.

Yet, God says, that they never thought about God.

As a pastor I use a lot of God-talk, all the time. I read the Scriptures. I pray the prayers. I preach the sermons.

But do I think about God?

Perhaps what God is saying here is not some sort of intellectual exercise regarding God but is talking about the way that I think about those people in my life whom I love.

I think about my wife and kids a lot. I wonder what they're doing right now? Are they having fun? What kinds of conversations are they having? I am *intrigued by the lives of those I love.

The question I'm wrestling with today is, “Am I intrigued by the life of God?”


Discuss...

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