It is to be with him (the king), and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Deuteronomy 17:19-20.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 NKJV.

If only. Do you ever wonder what would be if only we truly turned to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, and asked for His help to guide us? Not superficially but in deep longing and hope. In our chapter, Jeremiah 4, we see the anguish of Jeremiah because of what is happening that can’t be stopped. “If you, Israel, will return, then return to Me,” declares the Lord. “If you put your detestable idols out of My sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by Him and in Him they will boast.” v. 1-2. And what does that take? This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or My wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done – burn with no one to quench it.” v. 3-4. He isn’t talking about the ground being broken up, but our hearts that have become hardened against God. The next verses describe the disaster coming, v. 5-9, and Jeremiah cries out in anguish, as so many of us do, why Lord. Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!” v. 10. The people were promised blessings if they followed God and were faithful to Him. But they weren’t faithful. And they cried peace, peace, when there is no peace. They wanted to hear only what they wanted to hear. And when destruction came they weren’t prepared. Our hearts want to believe all is well when inside where it matters, all is not well. Do we believe correction is not for us? “Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!”…”My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are senseless children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.” v. 18, 22. Does that sound like today? “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent. I have decided and will not turn back.” v. 27-28. We can’t blame God for the problems we create. We have responsibility for them and the choices we make. Even if we have never read one word of Scripture, deep in our souls where it matters, we know wrong when we see it. So does God.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Be still and in awe because God is Sovereign and He is worthy! Do you see the mess all around us? Can you make it go away for everyone? I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10. Be still and know and give thanks! God loves us too much to leave us in this mess we have made. And today…we can return to Him and know His love personally! And then we can, with Jeremiah, lament the sorrows we bring upon ourselves because we have understanding only God can provide. And with that understanding, we can turn to Him and trust Him for all things for everyone. Who else can we trust? Who else is faithful and worthy? Only Creator God!