Readings for today: Hosea 6-9
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-3)
What a beautiful prayer for our time! God’s prophet issuing a call to God’s people. Return. Come back. Be healed. Be comforted. Be revived. The same God who allowed the calamity to come. The same God who allowed the plague to persist. The same God who allowed the violence and anger to vent itself in our streets is the same God who will bind up our broken hearts. He’s the same God who will bathe and dress all our wounds. He’s the same God who will end the plague. Bring blessing to our lives and to our nation and to our world…provided we seek Him. Provided we return to Him. Provided we humbly submit ourselves to Him.
God is faithful. His mercy is everlasting. His grace never fails. He is as consistent as the sunrise. As regular as the spring rains. He will never abandon us. He will never forsake us. He will never leave us. He is always available. He never sleeps. His foot never slips. His door is never closed. So we press on to know the Lord. We seek Him with all our hearts. We chase after Him with longing like the deer panting for streams of water. We look for the Lord in the land of the living. We abide in His life-giving presence. We drink from the well of Living Water. We eat the Bread of Life that always satisfies.
I think of the number of people I know right now who are seeking for comfort in all the wrong places. They cling to all they have left. They hoard all they have gained. They believe they must protect themselves at all costs. But these are foundations built on sand. These are treasures stored up on earth. Their lives are based on temporary pleasures that simply will not last. I think about the people I know who are lost and wandering during this time. They are hopeless and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. They are hurting and vulnerable and frightened and anxious. And my heart goes out to them. How I wish I could call them back to the Lord!
I think of our nation right now and the challenges we face. The rampant distrust. The culture of outrage. The post-truth era. We cannot seem to agree on simple facts. Everything becomes about the exercise of power. Everything becomes about control. We have wandered so far from God. The American Dream has become a living nightmare. Our nation is sick and needs healing. Our nation is struck down and needs to be bound back up. We are desperate for revival. The renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Father, may you heal us! Heal our divisions! Heal our hearts! Heal our souls! Father, may you bind us up! Restore the years the locusts have eaten through injustice, corruption, racism, classism, and economic deprivation! Father, revive us as we return to you! Restore us as we repent before you! You are last and desperate and only hope! We long for you!
Readings for tomorrow: Hosea 10-14