What does it take for us to know that the Lord is God

In Jeremiah 17:5-6 Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited."

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins. he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

To turn away from God and do our own thing brings about curses on our life. I know this first hand. Many times it doesn't just effect us as individuals, it also can effect many others, our family, those that mean the most to us. You see you and I can't sin and it just effect us. Sin has a way of spreading it's cancerous consequences on not only us but others. But thanks be to God, we can be forgiven, but sometimes the consequences continue. Scripture tells us that God is faithful to forgive and to cleanse, but it doesn't say He takes away the consequences everytime.

I'm reminded of Manasseh who became King at the age of 12 and for 55 years he remained King of Judah and he lived in Jerusalem. Even at the age of 12, scripture says that he did evil in the sight of God. You see Israel had already gone through defeat and destruction for disobedience to God. Manasseh's father, Hezekiah was a good man and had tried to bring Israel back to God and yet his son didnt' listen and he did more evil than Israel had ever done in it's history up to that point. Had bad was he? He did everything opposite of what his dad did. His dad tore down what was called the high places where they placed idols, gods etc; and Manasseh built them back. He raised altars to Baals, built wooden images and worshipped them. He worshipped all the stars and made gods by their names. He even built himself a god and placed it inside the house of the God. Now he not only did this evil, but scripture says he seduced all of Judah to do the same things. Scripture also says that God tried to speak to Manasseh and all of Judah but they would not listen. So here's what happened.
God allowed Assyria to come in and defeat Judah and when they found Manasseh, they put hooks in his nose and led him out of Jusah and they bound him up in leather straps and took him captive.

Now Manasseh did just what most of us do when we get into trouble or when we place other things before our God. He prayed! Scripture tells us that as evil as he was, His God heard his prayer and He answered his prayer. He was faithful and just to forgive his sin and to cleanse him from all unrighteousness. Scripture says that then after God brought him back to Jerusalem, that he knew that the Lord was God.
It took all those consequences of sin to bring Manasseh back to his God. He made all the changes that he should to restore his relationship with God but consequences remained and he then died.

God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse. Don't be upset if consequences of sin remain, but never forget that Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.