“But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.” (Jeremiah 7:23–24, NKJV)

Is there a point of no return? Is there a threshold where God’s judgment becomes inevitable? Evidently, that was the case with Judah. God had warned them again and again, sending prophets to them to turn them from their sins. But they persisted in their disobedience. They did not truly worship Yahweh but followed the inclinations of their hearts and worshiped other gods. Their rebellion reached the point where God told Jeremiah to stop praying for them (v. 16).

“And the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh…’” (Genesis 6:3, NKJV)

God is patient with us, but there is that point where He gives us over to the consequences of our choices.

Our walk with God should bring us into closer conformity to Christ. We must decrease, and He must increase. But it is possible to go backward and not forward. It is possible for our hearts to become hardened so that we no longer respond to His Word.

“Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.” (Luke 8:18, NKJV)

Am I truly listening to the Lord and doing what He says? Am I walking forward, or am I moving in the wrong direction? May we each examine our own hearts.