Turning Back to God

No God, No Hope

Forgetting God is part of the human condition. We all forget God at times, some of us more often than others. Forgetting God can happen as simply as starting to worry about something outside of your control, finding yourself too excited about your own plans, or relying on something besides God to satisfy you. The problem is that when we turn away from God, our hearts grow cold and the hope inside us turns into anxiety, fear, and sin. So the real question is: how strong are you at turning your heart back to God?

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
14 What they trust in is fragile;
what they rely on is a spider’s web.
15 They lean on the web, but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Surely its life withers away,
and from the soil other plants grow.

Job 8: 11-19

Forgetting God is like forgetting to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner… and instead just snacking on junk food all day. At first, your body might not notice, but after a while, you’re going to crash and won’t feel so good.

Turning Back

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Luke 22: 31-32

Jesus knew that Simon Peter was going to turn away from him. Even though God doesn’t want us to turn away, he understands that we will. Jesus told Peter to focus on strengthening his friends when he turned back. Turning back to God mean choosing to love people.

Prayer Idea

Pray about 3 relationships that your sin is affecting, then pray about ways that you can choose to love those people instead.