12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels. (Psalm 81:12 ESV)

God never gives up on us, but He may give in to us.

God may give us over to our own stubborn hearts. He may let us go our own way so we can see just how poor our own counsel truly is.

We should be concerned about this and when we begin to feel like He has given in to our stubbornness. This is not a situation where God’s plans will be thwarted. He will get about His business with or without us. But when we are out of His will it is amazing just how poorly our decisions without Him lead us to emptiness and possibly even loneliness.

We may rebel at times, but we want our Father in our lives. We need to be fostering a strong prayer life to help us stay aligned with Him. We want the intimacy of a Father in our lives who takes us by the shoulder and leads us down paths of righteousness. Because we are far too likely to head down paths of unrighteousness on our own.

But if you have gone this far away, know that God is always near and always waiting on the prodigal to turn around and come home. He will prepare a great feast when we do.