The people of Judah followed God in Word, but not in deed. It was time for a real return, for real life change, to turn from their sin and come back to the Lord.

Where does your relationship stand with the Lord when there's no one around to influence you to follow Him? In 2 Chronicles 24 we see the results of Joash not having a relationship with the Lord personally.

Whenever you choose to walk away from the Lord, you choose a lesser life. Israel had chosen that lesser life for themselves as they were unfaithful to the Lord. In the same way, whenever we're unfaithful to the Lord, we discover that it's always better with Jesus.

God's perspective is always bigger than the moment. He knew the calling and the purpose for Jeremiah's life before Jeremiah was even born. We may not always see it, but God has a special role in His plan for each one of us. When we step into our calling, we find out the specifics and the power to do what He's calling us to.

We're at our strongest when our dependence is on the Lord, when we're spending time in His Word & in prayer, instead of fighting in our own strength. When we trust the Lord to fight our battles, we find victory through the difficulties, strength in our weaknesses, and blessings in the valleys.

What we have in Jesus Christ is better, so step out of the old ways. Step of your comfort zone, step out of your traditions, your religious rituals, and step into praise, and serving, and sacrifice. Step out of your rebellion, and trust God, stepping into what He has for you. And when you step out by faith, what you realize is that grace is waiting for you.

As believers, we should fear the Lord, seek to be faithful to Him, be courageous in our faith, and have a loyal heart towards Him. As we do, we’ll be saved from the compromises that Jehoshaphat made as he sought friendship with the world.