July 30

Jeremiah 2:23-5:19

When high schoolers apply to colleges, they often have a safety school. This is a college where they feel confident they will be accepted if all other options come to nothing. Judah began to treat God as a safety god. They had turned to a myriad of idols and only when those other options failed, they actually turn to God. Unlike a safety school that may be happy to still have the student regardless of whether they were their first choice, God is not content to be a backup option. He wanted Judah to turn to him first, to turn to no others, and never turn away. He uses the metaphor of marriage to show that his relationship with his people is meant to be exclusive.

I think in our lives we can often use God in the same way as Judah. We trust in our own abilities, our material possessions, or other people, and only when we have exhausted all other options, we turn to God. This strategy is not only a path to failure and frustration, but also separates us from the relationship with God that Christ died to offer us. Therefore, let us confess when we use God as a backup plan and place God as the first and ultimate option in our lives.

Father God, help me to put you at the center of all areas of my life. Help me to put you first in all of my actions and decisions. Amen. 

Where in life do you find you use God as a backup option?

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