Session Four: All It Takes Is One

Jeremiah 5 (Part 1)

Hi my darlings, how are you?

Listen… we had such a good and insightful time studying Jeremiah 5. And no, we didn’t finish the whole chapter yet (because of course we didn’t lol). I’ve split it into three, so we will be studying the other sections soon because there was just too much to rush. This chapter deserves time, and we actually need to take in what God is telling us.

One thing that really stood out to me straight away was how quick our minds go surface level. When I sent the chapter to the group on Monday before Thursday's session, I asked, “What do you think?” nearly everyone’s first reaction was, “It’s so negative… Why are we reading this?” And I said, darlings… pause. We have to think deeper. If it’s in the Word, God is showing us something for a reason.

Because Jeremiah 5 isn’t “negative”. It’s a warning and a lesson. It’s literally God showing us what happens when a nation ignores Him over time, ignores conviction over time, and then ends up dealing with consequences they could have avoided if they listened earlier. You know the saying that your parents said to you when you were little  “who can't listen must feel?” This is that! And as people, as women, we don’t read this to judge them. We read this to learn, so we don’t repeat the same patterns.

God prepares us for the future. He sees everything, he's omnipresent, remember. So if we’re reading it, it’s because we need the wisdom.

First thing we cleared up - Why Jerusalem is called “her” and we quickly realised In Scripture, cities are often spoken of as women, especially Jerusalem. Jerusalem is described as a woman, a wife, a daughter and sometimes an unfaithful spouse. At first I thought, ok how random, but why? Then I figured out its covenant language! God isn't speaking about buildings, places or land, He’s speaking about relationships with his people. And that's why He uses relational words. But see the knock on effect - it's feminine because as women we are fruitful, we nurture, we carry life and we’re tied to intimacy and relationship. Do you see where I am going with this… honestly, I don't know why I haven't picked this up before in other parts of the bible I’ve read (adds to list to re study everything).  

Jerusalem was meant to carry God’s presence and produce righteousness. So calling it her highlights what was meant to flow from her AND what was lost when she drifted. Wild right. I had to sit on this for a full 24 hours and let it sink in. 

The big thing we pulled out of Jeremiah 5 is, it’s not about bad people out there, it's about good people who slowly drift, and this is the theme we started to see.

This is about believers who knew God, but chose to live their lives their own way anyway. And that’s why this chapter is so relevant, because most of us don’t wake up and decide to abandon God. We get busy, pressure gets heavy, we have responsibilities, and actually sometimes we’re just knackered from life, and we start adjusting. This is where the drift comes in… 

Jeremiah 5:1–2 – God searching for just ONE

This part hit hard for a lot of us, and by the end of it, we knew this was confirmation for some of the things we had individually gone through in life, hear me out… 

God basically says, “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgement, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.”

He’s not looking for a crowd, He’s looking for just one person. And that lesson my darling is powerful! Restoration doesn’t start with everyone repenting. It starts with ONE individual.

Imagine God sparing your family because YOU decided to stay aligned. ONE obedient woman can shift an atmosphere. ONE surrendered woman or mother can shift a bloodline (this is my personal lesson in this). ONE aligned leader can shift a culture. 

And we applied that to real life. Because it’s easy to have Christian ‘branding’ without Christian character. It’s easy to say “God first” while making decisions in your own will without prayer. It’s easy to talk the talk but you also have to walk the walk.  

And the scary bit is what happens when we don’t correct it, do you even feel the conviction anymore? Have you stopped trusting your spiritual instincts? Do you still have that ‘gut feeling’? When life becomes louder and a lot heavier and you become more reactive. And those of you who know me, know I’m always saying “don’t react, respond”… but you can’t respond wisely when you’re on 10 all the time or can't feel or hear God.

Jeremiah 5:4–5 – Knowing better but not doing better

Jeremiah thought the issue with the people was ignorance. But it wasn't and God corrected him (we all must be ok with correction btw) and showed him that the leaders knew the law, understood the covenant, and still chose to break it anyway. One of the lessons here is be careful who you take direction from and who you follow because not everyone is practicing what they preach, there are so many false leaders, pastors etc out there.  Your discernment needs to kick in here darling.

And that’s a word for women in leadership, in business, at home, in influence. Because information doesn’t equal transformation. And the more influence you have, the more responsibility you carry.

You can know the Word and still not be governed by it. And that’s why Jesus was harsher with religious leaders than outsiders. Because knowledge without submission is dan-ger-ous.

Jeremiah 5:6 – The lions, wolves and leopards

Right. Obviously I had to deep dive this one, because when you read it quickly it sounds like… what is going on? Why are we on a safari, although I do want to do one of those one day.

But, again thinking deeper, I decided to look deeper into the animals because I know God likes to work in analogies.  This my darlings isn’t about wild animals. This is about what happens when protection lifts.

The lion, the wolf and the leopard represent layered consequences that were already present but previously discreet. The principle is simple, when you repeatedly ignore conviction, you weaken your covering. God didn’t create new hunters. He just removed the protection. Here's a little summary of the characteristic of the animals and how it aligns with what we’re studying:

• The lion represents visible and undeniable destruction. It’s the loud consequence. You know the one that cannot be hidden away or explained. Its the public collapse, the relationship breakdown, the financial crash, the reputation damage. It roars. It’s loud and announces itself like your loud aunty at the family function lol. And most of the time, the lion shows up when something that was compromised in private finally surfaces in public. What was tolerated quietly internally eventually demands exposure loudly.
  
  
• The wolf of the evenings represents slow erosion. Wolves hunt at dusk, Not fully day, not fully night. And that’s important. Many women don’t fall in seasons of strength. They fall in seasons of transition. After the success, after burnout, after heartbreak, after the promotion, after divorce even after elevation. The wolf doesn’t roar. It doesn’t explode your life overnight. It wears you down. It chips away at standards. It normalises what once felt uncomfortable to you. It slowly drains clarity and conviction until you don’t even notice how far you’ve shifted.
  
  
• The leopard represents hidden surveillance. It watches. It waits. It studies. Leopards don’t make noise. They observe patterns and look for ways they can get in. This is the consequence tied to cycles. The generational patterns, the unhealed  trauma, the unchecked habits (mines chocolate, I'm not even joking), the lingering insecurities we have. It’s the thing that has been watching your weak spots for years, waiting for the moment you step outside of covering. And when the opportunity comes, it doesn’t hesitate. It pounces.
  
  

And this verse tells you why, because their “transgressions are many, and their backslidings increased”. Backsliding doesn’t happen overnight, it's gradual in increments, step by step. Drift disguised as normal. But in 2026, isn't this what society calls normal? food for thought, just because society calls something normal, it doesn't mean that God does…

And here’s the truth we left with - when backsliding increases, protection decreases. If that isn't a check in its self!!

Our takeaway so far

So far Jeremiah 5 is God’s mercy in advance, and it's Him showing us what happens when we ignore instruction and conviction long enough.  Not so we feel condemned, but so we get wise and stay aligned and don't drift.

And we’re not done yet, over the next two sessions we’re finishing the rest of the chapter because it gets even deeper.

So that’s all from the Boardroom for today my darlings. Stay in the Word, sit with what convicted you, and ask God what He’s trying to protect you from becoming.

See you next session.

Love always,

Hannah-Curlita xx