Week 44: October 26-November 1, 2025 -Don’t Walk Away from God!

This week’s daily readings:

October 26-November 1, 2025

This week’s devotional:

Don’t Walk Away from God!

by Rev. Justin Elerath

Scripture:

Ah, sinful nation,
    a people laden with iniquity,
offspring of evildoers,
    children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
    they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
    they are utterly estranged. 

— Isaiah 1:4 (ESV) 

Reflection:

A few years ago, I experienced the loss of a friend. But it wasn’t through death—something expected as a part of life—it was through betrayal. This was such a hurtful experience, and it wasn’t a ‘once and done’ event; it felt like it went on for a long time. This kind of hurt I would not want to impose on anyone. 

Forsaking is a similar offense to betrayal. It is not an active disloyalty, like betrayal is. Instead, it is an abandonment. This word “forsake” is sometimes included in wedding vows, as in “forsaking all others.” The word describes a walking away from people in your past.

We recognize and understand the violation of betrayal, but it is easy to miss the violation of forsaking God. We forsake God when we rush through life without a quiet time for prayer and devotion. We forsake God when we treat God like an emergency contact. We forsake God when we believe that we’ve got this, we can make decisions on our own, establish security on our own, or plan for tomorrow on our own. We forsake God when we prioritize comfort, entertainment, or ambition over holiness.

In this passage, Isaiah is communicating God’s call to repentance, asking us to lead a life that is reliant on him. We say it each week in the Prayer of Confession. Not only do we do the things that we ought not to, but we don’t do the things we ought to do! In James 4:17, we are told that to know the good that we ought to do and not do it is a sin, and that certainly is the case when we forsake the Lord.

Consider with me this week how you might be forsaking God in your everyday life and spend some time in prayer, repenting and seeking that closeness that could be such a great benefit!

Prayer:

All-knowing Father, we know we live in a sinful world, but we strive to rise above all that by knowing you. Don’t ever let us walk away from you, Lord! Give us eyes to see in what ways we are forsaking you and your glorious blessings. Help us to persevere in our prayer lives and our Bible reading, as we know both disciplines enrich us in ways we cannot fathom. We realize we are “laden with iniquity,” so forgive us our sin and turn us back to you! In the power of Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen