We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 ESV.

There are times when worries overwhelm me and I am helpless in the face of them. I pour them out to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. I imagine the worst and more fear pours in. I go back to God and ask for His help to give me strength to trust Him for each day. But see, I go to God. Where else in this broken world can I go? Why didn’t the people of Scripture Jeremiah is talking to, or any of us who refuse to listen, why don’t we turn to God? Why? Jeremiah 7 – This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, “We are safe” – safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!” declares the Lord. v. 1-11. It goes on to describe the practice of their worship to the Queen of Heaven, which in the notes below said was a “goddess” for love and fertility, and that they found a papyrus dating from the 5th century B.C., mentioning the Queen of Heaven among gods honored by the Jewish community in Hermopolis, in Egypt. What about today? Do we even know how to turn to God and ask for His help? God reminds us if we would only listen to His teaching for our good. For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey Me, and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. v. 22-24.

Yesterday our daughter and granddaughter saw a man come in and brazenly steal from a store and walk out without any shame or anyone to stop them. Another stared at her and her purse. And we wonder why it feels as though this world is falling apart. Because it is falling apart. When people lose their awe for and love of Almighty God, there are no boundaries to what the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts can do. Families are ripped apart. Children suffer. And for what? So we can do it “our way”? But you know what? For those of us who long for something better, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand…and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God! God is our hope and our strength, the firm foundation that will never crumble or be ripped apart. He is the One who stands in the breach when all else fails. And we can turn to Him. There is comfort in turning to God. There is His help that gives us strength to remember He is always here. Pour out your need to Him. He hears. He listens. He cares for you. His promises are for you!