Jeremiah 31:18-20

‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf,

and I have been disciplined.

Restore me, and I will return

because you are the Lord my God.

After I strayed,

I repented; after I came to understand,

I beat my breast.

I was ashamed and humiliated

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

And the Lord declared, ‘Is not Ephraim my dear son,

the child in whom I delight?

Though I often speak against him,

I still remember him.

Therefore my heart yearns for him;

I have great compassion for him.”

Here we see a young man, Ephraim (who represents the 10 tribes of Israel, but we won’t get into that today). He struggled with a rebellious spirit against the Lord. This actually reminds me of some of the greatest Saints we know. Like St. Augustine. He was an unruly young man. A typical wealthy party boy of the century. But at last, he grew weary of resisting the love of God and eventually became one of the most influential leaders in Church history! He experienced true conversion because the Lord did not give up “disciplining him, restoring him, delighting in him, and yearning for him.”

God is inexhaustible when trying to win our hearts. Ephraim says he would not have been able to overcome his rebellious ways had it not been for the love God was pouring over him the entire time. The same goes for us. We may struggle with certain sins over and over again, but know that God is continuing to fight for you.