Have you ever heard someone say:

“I might as well live it up. I’m going to hell anyway.”

Sometimes it’s said jokingly.

Sometimes defiantly.

And sometimes it comes from a much deeper place:

Hopelessness.

Maybe someone knows he is living contrary to God’s Word but has decided change is impossible.

Maybe he believes he has sinned too much.

Gone too far.

Made too many bad choices.

Or perhaps that person is you.

Jeremiah encountered people with a strikingly similar attitude.

God called them to turn from their evil ways.

Their response?

“That is hopeless!”

So they decided to keep going in the direction they were already headed.

But was their situation really hopeless?

Or had hopelessness itself become another excuse not to repent?

That question matters because our hearts can deceive us in more than one way.

They can tell us we are fine when we are not.

But they can also tell us there is no hope when God is still calling us to turn to Him.

Today we’ll look at whether anyone can truly go too far for God to forgive, what genuine repentance involves, and why hopelessness should never be allowed to have the final word.

We’ll also see God’s faithfulness to those who continue following Him in an evil world, the danger of trusting our own hearts, and why giving and receiving encouragement matters so much.

Welcome to “God’s Word Day by Day,” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here or subscribe and watch on YouTube.

Today’s Readings:

Jeremiah 17 & 18
Psalm 118.25-29
Proverbs 27.11-12
1 Thessalonians 3.1-13

Have You Gone Too Far for God to Forgive You?

Jeremiah 17 & 18:

God’s Faithfulness to Those Who Remain

If you have been reading along in Jeremiah, you know that the Prophet had the very difficult and costly job of warning the nation of Judah about impending judgment (Jer. 5.14-17). The situation was so dire that God didn’t even allow him to have a wife and family to worry about (Jer. 16.2). He was required to prophesy in the face of false prophets who lied to the people and told them not to worry that God wouldn’t judge them (Jer. 14.13-16). He was threatened (Jer. 11.18-23) and even beaten and placed in the stocks (Jer. 20.1-6).

But even in the midst of God’s judgment, God gave hope for the future and for those who would remain faithful. Chapter 17:

7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

It’s important to remember that there were faithful believers among those who would soon be conquered and exiled, including Daniel and the other young men we read about in the book of Daniel. Even though their nation and their way of life suffered, God blessed and watched over His faithful remnant. Daniel would find favor in spite of plots against him and political and military upsets. He would, eventually, serve under eight pagan kings.

Our Deceitful Hearts

Jeremiah 17.9-10 are two other verses that are important to remember:

9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.

It’s so easy for us to believe that we know what’s going on in another person’s heart—what they’re thinking, what their motives are, what they’re going to do in a given situation. But the truth is we can’t even fully know our own hearts, and we certainly cannot know someone else’s. Our own hearts can deceive us, causing us to believe we’re somehow “OK”—justified in our actions, even when we’re focused on ourselves and not the glory of our God.

We must constantly stay connected to God, asking Him to search our hearts and show us the sin and deceit that resides there.

I wrote more on this a couple of days ago in “Why You Should NOT Follow Your Heart”

“I’m Going to Hell Anyway!”

But chapter 18 has one of the saddest passages. Verses 11-12:

Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD. “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”’
12 And they said, ‘That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.’

We’ve all met people like that. They know what God’s Word says about the way they’re living, but they aren’t willing to do what God requires, so they just say, “I might as well live any way I want because I’m going to hell anyway!”

As their friends, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, sometimes all we can do is pray that:

God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will (2 Tim. 2.25-26).

And if that’s you and you think what you have done is too big for God to forgive, no matter what it is, God is willing and able to forgive you. But … you must turn to Him in humility, confess your sins, and seek His help to live His way. If you would like more information, leave a comment at the bottom of this post, and I’ll email you.

Today’s Other Readings:

Psalm 118.25-29:

He Is Good!

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever (v. 29).

We must get a firm grasp on the fact that even when God brings judgment, it doesn’t change who He is. And until the final judgment at the end of this age, even His judgment and its consequences are designed to bring an individual, or even a nation, to repentance.

Proverbs 27.11-12:

Foreseeing Evil

A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; the simple pass on and are punished (v. 12).

I wonder how often we get ourselves into trouble because we fail to heed God’s warnings to us.

1 Thessalonians 3.1-13:

Be an Encourager

Paul underwent extreme difficulties throughout his ministry, but knowing that his labors were not in vain was a great encouragement to him. Verses 5-8:

5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain. 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you— 7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.

Even the great Apostle needed encouragement. If someone has been a blessing to you in your walk with God, take time to thank them and let them know what their ministry or their testimony has meant in your life. It may be just the encouragement they need at that moment!

Coming Up:

In the next few days, we’ll talk about the rapture and ways to live like we’re expecting Jesus to come back soon, among other things.

I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out the latest videos on our YouTube channel.

And if this post spoke to you, consider sharing it on your favorite social media platform.

Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years.

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)