JEREMIAH 31:20
“Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
Therefore My heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.”
The above verse of the Bible has a poetic feel that reveals God’s state of mind as at the time He was saying what He said about Ephraim. God can choose to reveal Himself as a Father, Warrior, Friend, King, Lover, Terror, Peace maker, Etc.
How He reveals Himself is however based on the situation of things at every point in time. In the above Scripture, God revealed Himself as a Father whose lost son is about to be recovered back by God Himself.
A lot of time, people backslide without knowing that the disconnection between themselves and God breaks His heart greatly. The sad thing is that backsliding is subtle and gradual, yet it is destructive in nature.
2 PETER 2: 20-22
“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
Prior to the statement God made in Jeremiah 31, Ephraim( 10 tribes of Israel) had decided to walk in their own ways, forsake God and serve other gods. At this point in time, others were trying to let Ephraim see the dangers in the decision to follow the path of ruin, unending sorrow and pains, but just like every other backslider, who is full of his own wisdom and bent on having his way, Ephraim wanted nothing to do with the warnings.
It was at this point God said what He said in the book of Hosea:
HOSEA 4:17
“Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.”
At this point, God knew no one could change Ephraim’s mind on his decision to turn his back against God, and that no amount of words could make sense to the lost soul of Ephraim. God knew at this point that the only way out for Ephraim, was through divine intervention.
This is the reason prayer is the surest way out when it comes to the restoration of ourselves, or our loved ones from a backslidden state. At such times, mere words will most likely not yield any positive result, but can push the backslider further into rebellion.
PROVERBS 14:14
“The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways….”
Amazingly, the Father we have is such that delights in the restoration of His children. This is as a result of the fact that He misses every child that decides to stop having fellowship with Him, just as He pointed out in the case of Ephraim….. “ I do earnestly remember him still.“ (JEREMIAH 31:20)
As much as God frowns at backsliding, He is always out to bring back His own. He however leaves us with the choice of heeding His call to repentance. God is so in love with You that He remembers You still, even in your fallen state , and is ever willing to raise you up again.
HEBREWS 6 :4-6
“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
For His own sake, He will not let you remain in a fallen state, considering that it makes you such that takes Jesus through the pain and shame of the Cross again.
Remember His sufferings for you and return with all humility, He has not forgotten or abandoned you. You are always on His mind, despite every thing you did to break His heart, He remembers you still.
Author Profile
- Temitope is the founder of thesoulmeal.com, an online platform that she shares with her God-given spiritual family and friends. She is a speaker, teacher and youth counselor. She is passionate about inspiring people to find their identity in Christ. Catch her interviewing inspiring leaders on Tongue of the Learned Podcast
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