Hosea 7:13-14 - Woe to them, because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem
them but they speak lies against me. They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for
grain and new wine but turn away from me.
Hosea reminded Israel that he is always watching. He sees
all our sins…and remembers them until we confess them and repent of all the
wrong that he has stored up against us. He
said they were constantly aflame with lust…lust of the flesh ….a type of pride
that intensifies every other sin we commit.
He said … “woe to them”…because they had strayed from God and refused to
see that they needed to come back to him with all their heart.
He said they wailed on their bed instead of crying out from
their heart. That tells me that there is a big difference in just crying over
our problems….and asking God to take complete control of our hearts to help us
see the good…see his purpose… in what we are going through. Crying about our
problems puts our focus on us….crying out to God from our hearts to help us
understand our problems puts the focus on how God is going to use our pain…our
trial to teach us more about him.
I can’t think of a better reminder to start the New Year
with. My resolution will be to try to stop just ‘crying about’ whatever is
bothering me. I need to start ‘crying
out from my heart’ for God to help me understand what my problem has to do with
him. I bet the very act of turning over any trial or problem to him this
morning will make 2015 the year that I start thinking with God’s heart instead
of my own.
Father…thank you for the reminder that you see all that I do…and
have ever done. Forgive me for all the
times that I have thought with my heart…and stayed in a pity party more than I
have not. Help me to think with your
heart…to cry out to you to explain your purpose in all my pain…and to expose
the sin that keeps me from knowing you as deeply as your son Jesus did. Help me to make 2015 the year that I search
for you with all my heart and soul and mind…so that you can give me the
strength I need to do what you have called me to do for you. Amen.
Great post and great prayer! I too hope to do more of God's work that He has called me to do! There is purpose in our pain, we just have to remind ourselves of that and also remember that His grace for us is renewed EACH day. He wants us to trust Him for our needs EACH day. God bless you in 2015, Barb! I see God doing good things.
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