READING: Hosea 6-13
It’s so easy to do.
Sometimes we don’t even know it’s happening, but it does.
Sometimes, we don’t know it’s happened until we somehow come to our senses—often under the loving, but judging hand of God.
No believer I know intentionally does it, but it happens. Often, actually.
So, what is “it”? “It” refers to times when we get satisfied where we are, when we think we’re something because of what we have, and when we seemingly forget any knowledge of God. Here’s the way the writer of the book of Hosea described the situation: “When they had pasture, they became satisfied; they were satisfied, and their hearts became proud. Therefore, they forgot me” (Hosea 13:6). God had given them pasture, and they became contented with what they had. They grew arrogant in their contentedness, and they forgot God. As one writer put it, their satisfaction was “complacency, ingratitude, and a focus on the benefits God gives instead of on God himself.”*
And, lest we be too harsh on the Hebrews, we can go there, too.
All of us.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Are you at all like the Hebrews?
PRAYER: “I praise You, Lord, for Your Word that digs into my soul at times. Help me to listen well.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Hosea 14, Joel 1-3, Amos 1-2
* Garrett, D. A. (1997). Hosea, Joel (Vol. 19A, p. 258). Broadman & Holman Publishers.