BREAKING THE CYCLE OF ISOLATION

I will sow her for Myself in the land.  I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion.  Hosea 2:23

    Our sin has consequences but God is able to look into the future, past the present time when we suffer the effects of our choices, and see His act of redemption played out.  He knows how He will intervene on our behalf, how He will show mercy when we think we deserve none.  He is clear about the nature of His unchanging love even in the face of our unfaithfulness.

    Israel had played the harlot and gone after other gods.  God marked her way with thorns so that her travel would be beset with hardship.  This was not to be cruel but to encourage her to come back home.  Still, she spurned His love and continued traveling in the opposite direction.  God’s anger burned yet in the midst of disobedience, He saw the future as clearly as He did the present.  He was prophetic about the future of their relationship.  There would come a day when He would bring her home and show her compassion.  When she might have despaired of ever gaining anyone’s compassionate eye again, there would be deep reservoir for her to draw from.

    I worship a God who withholds what I deserve and bestows on me what I don’t.  He is indiscriminate about His offers of redemption, offering it to whomever will come to Him in humility.  He does not turn anyone away based on earthly references.  If parents withheld their approval, His acceptance of me is complete.  If caregivers were unmerciful, His caregiving includes compassion.  If those in relationship with me have been stingy, He gives of all He has, and is.

    Today, He makes Himself at home in us if we extend the invitation.  Deep wells of grace, mercy, and forgiveness are ours to drink from.  Such love empowers, fills, and spills out through us to others.

You are everything I need, everything I’ve never had.  I still choose to reach out to You for what seems too good to be true.  Amen