神在等我們回頭（耶四）中英bilingual

耶和華說：以色列啊，你若回來歸向我，若從我眼前除掉你可憎的偶像，你就不被遷移。（耶 4：1） 

讀《耶利米書》第四章時，我最大的感受是，神一直在給人回頭的機會。神透過耶利米先知警告猶大百姓，若不離棄罪惡、回轉歸神，將面臨嚴重災難。從這裡能看出神並不是急著施行審判，而是先給人悔改的機會，祂希望百姓回轉，而不是滅亡；神就像一位愛孩子的父親，即使孩子走偏了，祂還是希望他能回家。 

這也讓我反思自己的生活。有時明知哪些事情不太對，知道哪些習慣會讓自己離神越來越遠，卻常常告訴自己：「沒關係，以後再改」。但這段經文提醒我們，悔改不是等到出了問題才開始，而是在神提醒的時候就願意回轉。 

耶和華對猶大和耶路撒冷人如此說：要開墾你們的荒地，不要撒種在荊棘中。（耶 4：3） 

這句經節很貼近生活。就像栽種植物，如果土地長滿雜草，就算撒下再好的種子，也很難長得好；我們的心也是如此，每天的工作、家庭、課業、人際關係，各種事情都可能占據我們的心。久而久之，焦慮、抱怨、比較、憂慮就像雜草一樣慢慢長出來；有時候我們會覺得自己靈修沒有感動、禱告沒有力量，但問題不一定是神沒有說話，而是我們心裡已經被太多東西塞滿了。 

回想起主耶穌撒種的比喻(參太13章)，種子落在荊棘裡，就被擠住，不能結果子。原來神不只是希望我讀經、聚會，更希望我常常整理自己的內心，把那些攔阻我親近祂的東西清理掉。 

有獅子從密林中上來，是毀壞列國的。他已經動身出離本處，要使你的地荒涼，使你的城邑變為荒場無人居住（耶 4：7）。 

後段經文談到耶利米看見百姓因離神而面對的災難、混亂與荒涼；讀到這裡可以發現，人最大的問題不是環境，而是離開神。生活中便是如此，當我們把神放在生活之外，遇到事情就只靠自己想辦法，心裡反而更容易焦慮和不安；表面上看起來沒事，但裡面卻越來越混亂。 

耶和華如此說：全地必然荒涼，我卻不毀滅淨盡。（耶 4：27） 

讓我感到安慰的是，即使百姓一再悖逆，神還是留下恩典。也讓我想到，不管我們離神多遠，祂總是願意給我們重新開始的機會；也許我們曾經軟弱、跌倒，甚至對神冷淡了一段時間，但只要願意回頭，神依然願意接納我們。 

讀完本章最大的領受是：「神最在意的不是我們表面做得多好，而是我們的心有沒有向祂敞開」。當神提醒我們的時候，不要一直拖延；當發現心裡長出雜草的時候，要願意讓神來整理；當感覺自己離神有點遠的時候，也不要害怕回頭。 因為神不是在等著責備我們，而是在等著我們回家！願我們每天都願意把心重新歸向神，讓神來耕耘我們的生命，使我們能結出祂所喜悅的果子。 

你們親近神，神就必親近你們。（雅 4：8） 

By 林昀箴

真耶穌教會石牌教會、天母教會線上講道

石牌教會https://www.youtube.com/@TJChurchShipai

天母教會https://www.youtube.com/c/TJC_Tianmu/featured

God Is Waiting for Us to Return to Him(Jeremiah 4)

July 1, 2026

“If you will return, Israel,” declares the Lord, “Then you should return to Me.

And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver.”

(Jeremiah 4:1, NASB 2020)

When reading Jeremiah chapter 4, my deepest feeling is that God is always giving people the opportunity to turn back. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God warned the people of Judah that if they did not forsake sin and turn back to God, they would face serious disaster. From this, we can see that God was not eager to carry out judgment. Instead, He first gave people the opportunity to repent. He hoped that His people would turn back, not perish. God is like a father who loves his children; even when the child has gone astray, He still hopes that the child can return home.

This also makes me reflect on my own life. Sometimes I clearly know that certain things are not right, and I know that certain habits will make me drift farther and farther away from God, yet I often tell myself, “It is fine; I will change later.” However, this passage reminds us that repentance should not begin only after problems arise, but when God reminds us, we should be willing to turn around.

“For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your uncultivated ground,

And do not sow among thorns.”

(Jeremiah 4:3, NASB 2020)

This verse is very close to daily life. It is like planting a plant: if the ground is full of weeds, even if the best seeds are sown, it will still be difficult for them to grow well. Our hearts are the same. Every day, work, family, schoolwork, human relations, and all kinds of matters may occupy our hearts. As time passes, anxiety, complaints, comparison, and worries slowly grow like weeds. Sometimes we may feel that our spiritual cultivation has not moved, and our prayers are powerless. However, the problem may not be that God has not spoken, but that our hearts have already been filled with too many things.

This reminds me of the Lord Jesus’ parable of the sower (cf.Matthew 13). When the seed fell among the thorns, it was choked and could not bear fruit. It turns out that God does not only hope that I read the Bible and attend services; He also hopes that I will often put my inner heart in order and clear away the things that hinder me from drawing near to Him.

“A lion has gone up from his thicket,

And a destroyer of nations has set out;

He has gone out from his place

To make your land a waste.

Your cities will be ruins,Without an inhabitant.”

(Jeremiah 4:7, NASB 2020)

The later part of the Scriptures speaks of Jeremiah seeing the disaster, confusion, and desolation that the people faced because they had departed from God. Reading this, we can discover that the greatest problem of people is not their environment, but depart from God. Life is the same. When we place God outside of our lives and rely only on ourselves to find solutions when things happen, our hearts become even more anxious and uneasy. On the surface, everything may seems fine, yet within, things become more and more confused.

“For this is what the Lord says:

“The whole land shall be a desolation,

Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.”

(Jeremiah 4:27, NASB 2020)

What comforts me is that even though the people rebelled again and again, God still left grace for them. This also reminds me that no matter how far we may have drifted from God, He is always willing to give us the opportunity to begin again. Perhaps we have once been weak, fallen, or even cold toward God for a period of time. However, as long as we are willing to turn back, God is still willing to receive us.

The greatest insight I gained from this chapter is : “What God cares about most is not how well we appear to do on the outside, but whether our hearts are open to Him.” When God reminds us, we should not keep delaying. When we discover that weeds have grown in our hearts, we should be willing to let God put them in order. When we feel that we have drifted somewhat far from God, we should not be afraid to turn back. For God is not waiting to rebuke us, but waiting for us to return home! May we be willing every day to turn our hearts back to God, allowing Him to cultivate our lives, so that we may bear fruit that is pleasing to Him.

“Come close to God and He will come close to you.”

(James 4:8, NASB 2020)

By Yun-Zhen Lin