READING: Hosea 6-14, Revelation 5:1-6:6
To be honest, I can remember times when I wanted to give up on God. Sometimes those times came when God seemingly didn’t answer my prayers to free me from ongoing sin patterns. At other times, it just felt like following Jesus cost me too much (though, what my Christianity cost me pales in comparison to others around the world). Occasionally over the years, I’ve thought I wanted the freedom to live as I wished without conviction and guilt. And, in some cases, my rebellious spirit might have suggested that I’d turned to other gods in my life.
Still, though, God loved me.
In fact, today’s Old Testament reading reminds us of this kind of love. Judgment was inevitable for God’s rebellious people who had turned their backs on Him, but still God would not turn His back on them. His passionate love for them is evident in the questions He asks in Hosea 11:8 – “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel?” In the end, His grace trumps His wrath.
That same kind of love is evident in other verses as well:
- “Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Whenever I speak against him, I certainly still think about him. Therefore, My inner being yearns for him; I will truly have compassion on him. This is the Lord’s declaration” (Jer 31:20).
- “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isa 49:15).
How grateful I am today that God always loves His children! His compassion truly is remarkable.
PRAYER: “God, thank You for loving me when I haven’t always loved You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Joel 1-2, Revelation 6:7-7:17
