The Most Important Question

What is the most important question you can think of? Maybe it depends on your age. For some it might be, “How can I make more money?” or “Which career will I choose?”  Still for others, “What school will I attend?”  For others, “Where can I find that special person I want to meet?” or “How can I best follow my dream?”  As important as these questions may be, the Bible says there is a more important question that must come first and should always remain first.  The prophet Jeremiah said this is a question you want to keep asking yourself all the way through life. The question is “Where is God in my life?”

Things went terribly wrong for the Israelites in Jeremiah’s day, and they looked everywhere for a solution, but found none. Jeremiah forcefully blamed those responsible for the national dilemma, “They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness…” (Jer. 2:6).  The prophet’s preaching was soul searching.  “Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments?  Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number” (Jer. 2:32).  How could this possibly happen?  Jeremiah responds: “This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me?  They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves” (Jer. 2:5).

This question was not just for the Israelites; it is for us today. We, like ancient Israel, have followed worthless things.  We, too, have been distracted by petty pursuits and gotten our eyes off of the Lord. Just as they were infatuated by something else and were lured away, so are we, as the way a husband or wife becomes unfaithful to their marriage partner.  Look around you, and you will see unfaithfulness all around, and we are paying a terrible price for it.

It is time to ask this question with soul searching intensity, “Where is God in my life?” “Where is God in my family?” Remember, God never left Israel; they left him. Is it possible to be faithful to God in the midst of a faithless world? Jeremiah would tell us yes, it is possible. The way back to faithfulness is through repentance. Are you as close to God as you want to be?

Jeremiah asked God to give him an assessment of his spiritual condition, and God gave this report to the prophet: "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?  If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (Jer. 12:5).

God was saying to Jeremiah, if you can’t handle your present challenges, how do you expect me to entrust you with the great things I have planned for your life?  What God expected from Jeremiah was complete trust. This is crucial in our spiritual formation and development. Superficial faith can look pretty good until it is tested. I believe there are some major trials ahead for the church here in America, and many of us are not prepared to run with the horses because we have been stumbling through our menial daily tasks. We still find it hard to get along with family members and our brothers and sisters in Christ. We still struggle to control our emotions and keep our feelings in check. For many of us, our relationships are impoverished because of our inconsistency in living the authentic Christian life. Let me challenge you to ask this question every day, “Where is God in my life today?”