Have you ever been at a place in your life where you just had enough? Too many things have piled up. The burdens are too heavy. You feel pressure coming from all sides. No matter what you do, it seems as if you can never win. Just as soon as you think things are on the right track, something else happens. You get to a place where you just throw up your hands and say, “I’ve had enough.”
Jeremiah 6:1-15 continues speaking of the coming judgement on Judah. An enemy will invade from the north. This enemy is the Babylonians. There is mention of certain towns that surround Jerusalem. One by one, these towns are taken by the Babylonians. Tekoa was the hometown of the prophet, Amos. This was a small town located about 12 miles south of Jerusalem. Communication was made from town to town by signal fires. The Lord speaks through Jeremiah telling the people to blow the trumpet and set the signal fires, because the enemy is coming. The town of Beth Haccerem may have been located somewhere between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The signal fires are to be lit because disaster is coming from the north.
As the enemy approaches, God declares that the impending invasion is coming because He’s simply had enough. The Lord has been merciful. By His hand, He has held back judgement. Yet, the people still refuse to repent. Now, the Lord says He’s had enough, and He is removing His hand of protection and is allowing the enemy to come in and destroy Judah. Sometimes, it gets to a point when God will remove His hand of protection and withhold is hand of blessing. He will do this in our lives and He will do this in the church. When there are unconfessed sins in our lives and in the church and when there is an unrepentive heart, the Lord will remove His hand. He will allow Satan to come in and wreak havoc. God’s protection is removed. He will do this, not because He wants to do. He does so because He has to. He does so because He loves us. He knows what is best for us and He will do whatever needs to be done to get our attention and bring us to repentance.
Allow me to share with you three things we see in the text where God’s had enough. Then, we will look at how we should respond when God’s had enough.
I’ve had enough of your rebellion. In verse 11 the Lord says, “Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord. I am weary of holding it in.”[1] The Lord has had enough of the rebellion of His people. He cannot hold back His wrath any longer. The people of Judah have rebelled. They’ve refused to listen to the Word of the Lord. They’ve turned their backs on God and have turned to idols. Perhaps you have experienced dealing with a rebellious child. No matter what you do, they will not listen. They are stubborn and they go their own way, living in disobedience. You get to place where you are just done. You are tire of it. You can’t take anymore. When we continually rebel against God and we refuse to obey His Word, eventually He has enough and He removes His hand of blessing and protection.
I’ve had enough of your insolence. The people of Judah has completely disrespected the Lord and it has gone too far. Over the years, I have worked with children in various settings, including Good News Clubs and directing a summer camp. For the most part, I’ve had good experiences. Most children are respectful. However, I’ve certainly had my share of dealing with disrespectful children. I’ve been in situations where they are so rowdy and loud that they just completely ignore me. In those times, all I could do was sit quietly and wait until I had their attention. I’ve experienced adults who are also disrespectful. Sometimes, adults can be worse than children. They think that because they are adults, then no rules apply to them. Being disrespected is an awful feeling. No one likes to be ignored and talked back to and disrespected. The people of Judah disrespected the Lord to such a degree that He had enough. He was done with it. Therefore, He would remove His hand of protection and blessing.
I’ve had enough of your ignorance. The people of Judah just went on in their sin. They did not understand why God was so angry with them. They saw nothing wrong in what they were doing and they continued to rebel and worship false gods. The people also ignored the warnings. They did not believe that anything would happen to them. Therefore, they just continued in their sin. There are times when we are the same way. We get so comfortable in our sin that we do not even realize we are sinning. When someone points out our sin, we think they are crazy. We have suppressed the truth in our sin to such a point that we become completely ignorant of our sin and of the truth.
There are times in our lives when God’s had enough. We find ourselves in such a state of rebellion, insolence, and ignorance that God chooses to remove His hand of protection and blessing. In those times, how should we respond? What do we do when God’s had enough?
Confess and Repent. The way back to God is through the avenue of confession and repentance. The first step is to come clean. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”[2] I love the fact that He is faithful to forgive. Here’s the thing: God will never turn away those who come to Him in confession and repentance.
Take small steps toward restoration. Once you have come clean, it is important to take certain actions steps to restore your walk with God. This may be practical things such as a greater commitment to prayer and Bible reading. It may be, seeking counsel from others. In some cases, professional counseling may be needed. Whatever it takes, take those steps toward restoration.
Accept consequences patiently. There are always consequences for our sin. Therefore, whatever the consequence is, we need to accept it and wait patiently for it to pass. The consequence may be financial difficulty. It may be sickness. It may be removal from certain positions within the church. Whatever form the consequence is, don’t fight. Accept is and work through it.
The best way to avoid God getting to the point where He’s had enough, is to simply walk in obedience with Him daily. Maintaining your personal walk with God is key to staying safe within His grace.
[1] The New King James Version (Je 6:11). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
[2] The New King James Version (1 Jn 1:9). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
Pastor Chris Noland 