11/09/2022
Have we wandered from the Lord our God, and worshipped one or more of the many worldly gods that entice us? Have we sought delight in power, wealth, or possessions, and for all our worldly successes, found ourselves lacking? If this is who we are then it is time to return to the Lord and become complete in Him. His anger with us has been overcome, and put to rest, on the cross at Calvary, and we can return to live once more in the merciful comfort of His shadow. Through our faith in Jesus Christ we are made to blossom again.
“Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;”
Hosea 14:1, 4-5 ESV
Much like we are reading here in Hosea, where God’s anger, and disappointment in Israel, is overcome by His love for them, He has also loved us. In sending His Son Jesus to take on our sins, die for us, and rise again from the grave, His love has redeemed, and completed us by His grace, and we are no longer disappointing, or found lacking. Do we believe in Jesus Christ, and has He led us to the comfort that we can only find in the Lord?
“They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.”
Hosea 14:7 ESV
Our Father looks at us, and the world’s idols that we worship, and shows us that they can’t satisfy us, and that for all the beauty and allure we see in them, they will never be enough. Only in God Himself are we made complete, and in Him alone is our fruit perfected.
“O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.”
Hosea 14:8 ESV
There were times in my younger years when I looked at wealth, desired some possession, or wanted to live the life someone else was living, and thought to myself that if I only had those things I would have it all, and would be eternally happy, but as some of those things became a reality to me I was never as happy in them as I thought I would be. I found problems and disappointments in them that I couldn’t see previously. They were never enough, and even when I had prayed for them, and thought that my prayer had been answered, I found that it was just the world, and that I had led myself into a spiritual trap through wrong motives such as jealousy, greed, or by coveting the possessions of others. Haven’t we all wanted something for the wrong reasons, or found ourselves moving at odds with God’s will for us?
“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.”
Hosea 14:9 ESV
In situations such as this we have wandered away from God, and are worshipping what is in the world, not receiving one of God’s blessings from within it. In kneeling before false gods and idols we are deceiving ourselves, and will never find the fruit of life that god desires to give us. Oh, we might obtain gold for ourselves, or have many other things by the labor of our own hands, but none of these will ever be enough.
So what do we do? We should return to God, ask for the His forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and humble ourselves before Him. By returning to Jesus just as Israel returned to God, we, like orphans, will receive His mercy and grace.
“Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.””
Hosea 14:3 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your love that has overcame the wrath which we deserve when turning away from you, and serving the world before you. Thank you for your Son Jesus whose blood has redeemed us, and whose obedience to your will has become our example of righteousness, and how to humble ourselves before you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is above all gods, and through whom our perfect peace, comfort, and happiness, can be realized. Merciful are you whose grace flows over us like fragrant oil, and releases us from the penalty of sin through Jesus Christ. Praised be your name for every good thing that is truly from you, and for the eternal blossom of our faith. Wash us clean in the blood of Jesus, and usher us into your judgement where we will appear not as ourselves, but in the perfect image of Christ, and receive eternal life as our inheritance. This is the fruit that manifests itself from the blossom of your love. Praised be your name forevermore.
Rich Forbes