Thursday, May 9th, 2024
The book of Hosea is about the prophet Hosea whom God told to marry a harlot so that God could show Israel how they had left their first love. It’s sort of a challenging book to read, but if God didn’t correct us, we would never really understand how much He loves us. Hosea 11:3-4 gives us an incredible picture of that love:
3 “I taught Ephraim to walk,
Taking them by their arms;
But they did not know that I healed them.
4 I drew them with gentle cords,
With bands of love,
And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.
I stooped and fed them.
Isn’t this a beautiful visual? We have all had many different experiences in life that have tried to distort our view of who God is to us. The enemy is constantly trying to downplay God’s love for us, God’s constant working in our lives and the measure of wonderfulness with which we were made. But this scripture right here is like being wrapped in the softest, warmest blanket ever made. I am convinced that whether or not we know it, God has done all of these things for us. He taught us to walk. He has embraced us in His arms. He has healed us. He has gently drawn us in with His love. He has lifted off our bondage. He has come down to us and fed us. In two verses we see wonderful promises of what God has done and will continue to do.
Yes, there may be times we need correcting, but He will not withhold these things from those who seek Him. He doesn’t hand these out based on our having a certain title, having it all together or having cleaned out all of our skeletons. He loves us so deeply. He loves to shower us with His love. He loves to embrace us when no one else will. He loves to take the burdens that others just keep trying to pile on. His constant desire is that we know Him more and more. He wants to be the one we trust, the one we need and the one we run to for everything.
Final Thoughts…
If all of us understood how much God loves us, we would never look to be filled by anything else. Often times, the thing that keeps us from walking in complete freedom is our inability to understand how much God loves us. I may be speaking more to myself than anyone else here. If we believed His love, we would never fear. If we overflowed with His love, there would be no room for pride. If we trusted His love, envy would never be an option. If we allowed Him to love on us, depression would have nowhere to land. If we loved like He does, bitterness would never settle into our bones. If we rested in His love, we would stop trying to take back the wheel. Ask God today for a fresh anointing of His love. It’s His love that explains Creation, resurrects lives, restores hearts, heals, delivers and gives us peace beyond understanding.