14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
OBSERVATION
The book of Hosea reveals the heart of God towards his sinful people. God's mercy and grace are available towards a stubborn Israel. He conquers people's hearts not by force but with His love and compassion. People worship God as a response of His love for them. God initiates, provides, and secures this kind of relationship because of the nature and power of His love.
This passage reveals how God deals with our propensity to sin. He allures us to the desert to change our hearts and to restore us with his tender voice and faithful care. When we experience the desert we are more prone to experience God. What amazes me about the Lord is that He speaks his greatest revelation to his greatest servants while they are in the desert. It's in the midst of exhaustion, loneliness, barrenness, heat, and thirst that our hearts become sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It's in the desert where we find our true purpose in life, hope for living, and joy to endure the tests and suffering this life brings. The question is, "Do we run away from the desert, or do we run towards it?"
APPLICATION
Deserts come in different shapes and forms. Those seasons when we feel lonely, tired, frustrated, ineffective, hopeless, and meaningless, are great opportunities to experience the power of God's love and to hear His tender voice. In my own life I've only heard God's tender voice in the midst of deserts. When I was lonely God spoke to me about building true friendships and serving people. When I was barren and ineffective in my ministry, God's love allured me to give up my rights, to surrender to God's plan, and I heard God's instructions that led me to a place of fruitfulness and effectiveness. When I felt far away from God and deeply convicted of my selfishness and repetitive sins, God came with the power of His grace to restore me, to heal me, to lift me up, and to show me that no matter what I do, His love for me is real, strong, and eternal.
What is interesting about all these experiences is that even though the deserts in my life have been the places to conceive fruitfulness, hope, growth, and significance in my life, I'm still afraid of them. I don't want to go through them. I want to run away from them. Nobody likes to experience the symptoms of a desert season. But I cannot forget that in the deserts of my life I will find more closeness to God and I will experience His love and grace in a transforming way.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, please give me strength and purpose when facing the unavoidable deserts of my life. I cannot say that I enjoy these seasons, but help me to see their purpose and give me the endurance to persevere, to wait, until your tender voice is heard and your loving power is displayed in my life. I need to be different. There's so much that needs to be changed. And today I realize that you may allure me to the desert to answer my prayer. I cannot deny that it's scary. So please help me to fix my eyes on You, because when I do that, all my fears go away. Help me to trust you and in your ways to speak truth and light into my life. Take me to the desert and mold me according to your perfect will. Amen!
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