In The Word: Hosea

Today, I'm linking up with Elise from Cheers Y'all and Kaityn from Wifessionals This is my first time linking up with a devotional, so if I'm not doing it correctly--I'm sorry!

I enjoyed this devotional.  I had never read Hosea before and I'm glad the first time I did was following this specific devotional.  Throughout the readings, the underlying message I got was: God is always there.  He has never left.

I have strayed.  I have sinned.  I have seen myself detailed in the ugly descriptions read about in Hosea far more than I'd like to admit.  He waits with anger at my sinfulness. He waits with sorrow at my sinfulness.  But He waits.  And that is beautiful to me because I'm human and I'll continue to mess up, but He has made a way for me.

A few points really stood out to me, so I'll highlight them here:

1."Being found isn't as beautiful if you don't admit you were once lost." (She Reads Truth)
     I'm not sure I had ever thought about this before, but wow.  That's quite a statement for those of us who have "always" grown up in church.  But I don't think you can really appreciate the purpose of God in your life if you don't recognize how far He has brought you.

2. Forgiveness is a hard pill for me to swallow.  It's something I struggle with constantly.  Why should I forgive you for treating me so poorly?  Because I'm called to.  That is also a hard pill to swallow, haha!  I'm called to forgive and love like the Lord did with the Israelites.  Ughh.  But I don't want to!  This really stood out: He's been in my shoes.  He's been burned before, much more than I have ever been, but he loved.  But if He can do it, I can do it, too.

3.  He has made a way for me to return to Him, through His son.  And I'm thanking the Lord for that today because the descriptions of Israel's wickedness (i.e. my sins) are definitely not pretty.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to see what others got out of it, too!