"You can do hard things," I softly reminded the tiny son. He is struggling with his penmanship. Those miniature fingers struggle to wrap around that wooden pencil steadily and script what's in his mind's eye.
You know how that feels, don't you? Maybe not with writing, but when you want freedom from sin so desperately, you can see it, yet it seems unfathomable to obtain. Paul understood that struggle, too:
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Romans 7:24
There is hope, my beloved. Hope is the absolute expectation of coming good—and it is coming. We're going to see that this week in Hosea 3, which only has 5 verses. Let's refresh ourselves on what's happening.
God was clear with Hosea upfront: marry, have children, and tie this situation back to My people because they have been unfaithful to Me. Hosea knew the why and the purpose before his world unraveled. Beloved, the power of purpose is essential. If you haven't read my blog post on Knowing Your Purpose, it's one to marinade on.
Hosea's story was written to teach us about Israel's 3 primary sins: idolatry, ingratitude, and hypocrisy. We can draw a dotted line from these sins to our own heart, which we specifically focused on in chapter 2.
Now, we're going to experience redemption and see God's command for Hosea to remarry Gomer, with the expectation of holiness. This is essential because it signals the eternal love of God that He has for His people (which, thanks to Jesus' sacrifice, includes Gentile believers).
1 The Lord said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."
God continually shows His love to you. In this exact moment, He is demonstrating love. What happens is we get so sucked into the busyness and chaos of our schedules we fail to see the active workings of God. If you seek redemption, righteousness, and a singleness of heart (Jeremiah 32:39), then begin to intentionally pause and give thanks for the beauty in the small moments.
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. 3 Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you."
Apparently, Gomer had fallen into some form of slavery, so she had to be purchased. The amount wasn't much, so that speaks to the desperate situation she'd fallen to. God was illustrating to the Israelite people His redemptive character. Application: Praise God that we are never out of grace's reach! He has redeemed us through His son, Jesus Christ.
Notice the command in verse 3: "You are to live with me..." Another word for "live" would be "dwell" in the Hebrew. If you haven't spent time studying what it means to dwell with God, I encourage you to explore John 15, which gives us a stunning analogy of how we can live with Christ.
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.
These two verses have a significant historical reference to them. Notice the mention of "seek the Lord their God and David their king." The northern kingdom has been in revolt against the house of David for two centuries. God is prompting them to return and fully participate in God's covenant instead of being divided. Application: unity in the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:3 tells us this by saying, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Make every effort, friends.
Going back to my story at the beginning of the blog when I was talking with my son about his writing...if you're in a season where it is hard, my words would be the same to you: you can do hard things. The reason I know this is because God has already done that work of holiness for you. It may not feel like it right now—just like Gomer probably didn't feel holy as she was purchased back by Hosea—but the holiness comes in the place where you dwell. As you dwell with Him day in and day out, that life of freedom becomes a story He scripts for you.
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:25