He Loves Even the Wanderers
Happy Saturday, friends!
It's been quite a while since my computer last opened up to this page. School started about a month ago, and things have been nothing short of overwhelming. I've been stretched and challenged and broken and humbled way more than I ever thought possible- and it's only been a few weeks since I made the trip back to Oregon! But on this cold, cloudy day as I sip my tea and stare at the rain through my window, I decided I should finally put into words some of the things I've been learning/wresting with over the past weeks here.
Over the past month, I've gotten to know my newest hall-mates and start a new study with them during our small group time that's aligned with our hall theme (wilderness), revolving around the book of Hosea. Coincidentally (but more like God whispering, "you need this"), my current She Reads Truth study is also on the book of Hosea. If you're not familiar with the book or haven't cracked it open in a while, I would encourage you to flip it open during your next quiet time with the Lord or when you're wondering what your next Bible study should focus on.
The book of Hosea is pure gold. It's lovely, it's raw, it's broken, it's tear-jerking, it's redeeming, and it's full of hope. It tells the story of a prophet of the Lord, Hosea, being called to marry a prostitute named Gomer and call her his own. The woman God called Hosea to was actively and consistently deceitful, disloyal, and devious. This was to stand as an example for Israel of their current relationship with God. Hosea was to show Israel her sin by taking an unfaithful wife and being faithful to her. Gomer ran away from Hosea again again and back to her false loves that provided no long lasting joy or fulfillment for her. Likewise, Israel continued to run away from God again and again, settling back into their cycle of sin, idol making, and false-love-chasing. They were content in their wrong choices, believing that they could find their worth in anything and anyone other than the One who had chosen them and called them His own people.
As readers, this should trouble and even disturb us. How could Gomer continually run away from a man so good as Hosea? How could she keep running after other things when her only sense of stability and true love was found in the man who wanted her and her only? And Israel, how could they be so forgetful of everything God had done for them? Had they forgotten Egypt? Their days of slavery, the 10 plagues, the God that lead them through the wilderness to the promised land? How could they continually flee from their God to false idols made of gold and stone? How many cycles of sin-punishment-repentance-sin-punishment-repentance would it take for them to see the One who has been waiting for them to return home with open, loving arms? As I kid, I never understood the story of Israel and their famous sin-cycle. I often asked myself these questions as our Sunday school classes studied week after week of the same story- Israel running, God chasing, Israel running, God chasing. Why did it keep happening, and why wouldn't it end?
Friends, we are all Israel.
We are all Gomer.
This is the heavy, glaring truth that I've learned over these studies I've been doing. Over and over again, we flee from God in search of love, fulfillment, and joy in all the wrong places. We sabotage the always faithful, never wavering love of God even though deep down we know His truth in our hearts and minds. We hear the call of false loves everyday that distract us from where our focus should be. We find our value in other things- family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, jobs, grades, jobs, money, popularity, belongings, etc. We wander away from God, frustrated because maybe we just don't feel His presence in our life or can't make sense of the plan He has laid out for us already. We brush Him off, we turn away, we ignore His love. We chase the wind, we avoid His grace, we manipulate, we control, we hope in all the wrong things. We listen to sin's tempting voice and follow it right back into the dark, cold valley that once seemed so warm and inviting.
We wander, we wander, we wander.
This is heartbreaking. Our Father who gave everything to redeem us, His own Son, we ignore every day and treat as an afterthought. Our Savior, who loved us enough to die in our place, watches us turn away from the cross and run the other way. We've mistreated Him, we've ignored Him, we've tuned Him out with the noise of this world.
"He loves us first, we loved sin more.
He made us without shame, we dirtied the white dress.
He gave us a covenant, we didn't show up at the alter."
But praise God, friends! He loves even the wanderers.
He loves us. He redeems us. He seeks us out. He exposes us. He calls us home. He takes away our sin. He breaks our chains. He makes us new. He empowers us. He sees us as spotless. He humbles us. He invites us in. He binds us to Himself. He forgives.
He pursues, He pursues, and He pursues ever more.
Even though we constantly turn away and hide our face, God never turns from us or hides His love. Even though we consistently doubt His love for us, God continues to draw us in. Even though we repeatedly run away from Him as far as we can, God continues to pursue us.
Although sin will always continue to call us back to our self-sufficient wandering with it's enticing words and fabricated promises, He will always draw us back to Him and welcome us back with open arms as the father with his prodigal son. God is all-knowing of our unfaithfulness, yet He pursues us still. Although we hear the call of our false loves, we always hear the call of our one True Love.
Hosea teaches us that no one is beyond the reach of God's forgiveness, grace, and love. So approach His throne with confidence, friends. No matter how far you've run, how deep the pain, or how wicked the wrong, He actively and persistently pursues you still.
The God who calms the seas and clothes the flowers of the field will never abandon you or turn away.
Praise God, He loves even the wanderers.
It's been quite a while since my computer last opened up to this page. School started about a month ago, and things have been nothing short of overwhelming. I've been stretched and challenged and broken and humbled way more than I ever thought possible- and it's only been a few weeks since I made the trip back to Oregon! But on this cold, cloudy day as I sip my tea and stare at the rain through my window, I decided I should finally put into words some of the things I've been learning/wresting with over the past weeks here.
Over the past month, I've gotten to know my newest hall-mates and start a new study with them during our small group time that's aligned with our hall theme (wilderness), revolving around the book of Hosea. Coincidentally (but more like God whispering, "you need this"), my current She Reads Truth study is also on the book of Hosea. If you're not familiar with the book or haven't cracked it open in a while, I would encourage you to flip it open during your next quiet time with the Lord or when you're wondering what your next Bible study should focus on.
The book of Hosea is pure gold. It's lovely, it's raw, it's broken, it's tear-jerking, it's redeeming, and it's full of hope. It tells the story of a prophet of the Lord, Hosea, being called to marry a prostitute named Gomer and call her his own. The woman God called Hosea to was actively and consistently deceitful, disloyal, and devious. This was to stand as an example for Israel of their current relationship with God. Hosea was to show Israel her sin by taking an unfaithful wife and being faithful to her. Gomer ran away from Hosea again again and back to her false loves that provided no long lasting joy or fulfillment for her. Likewise, Israel continued to run away from God again and again, settling back into their cycle of sin, idol making, and false-love-chasing. They were content in their wrong choices, believing that they could find their worth in anything and anyone other than the One who had chosen them and called them His own people.
As readers, this should trouble and even disturb us. How could Gomer continually run away from a man so good as Hosea? How could she keep running after other things when her only sense of stability and true love was found in the man who wanted her and her only? And Israel, how could they be so forgetful of everything God had done for them? Had they forgotten Egypt? Their days of slavery, the 10 plagues, the God that lead them through the wilderness to the promised land? How could they continually flee from their God to false idols made of gold and stone? How many cycles of sin-punishment-repentance-sin-punishment-repentance would it take for them to see the One who has been waiting for them to return home with open, loving arms? As I kid, I never understood the story of Israel and their famous sin-cycle. I often asked myself these questions as our Sunday school classes studied week after week of the same story- Israel running, God chasing, Israel running, God chasing. Why did it keep happening, and why wouldn't it end?
Friends, we are all Israel.
We are all Gomer.
This is the heavy, glaring truth that I've learned over these studies I've been doing. Over and over again, we flee from God in search of love, fulfillment, and joy in all the wrong places. We sabotage the always faithful, never wavering love of God even though deep down we know His truth in our hearts and minds. We hear the call of false loves everyday that distract us from where our focus should be. We find our value in other things- family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, jobs, grades, jobs, money, popularity, belongings, etc. We wander away from God, frustrated because maybe we just don't feel His presence in our life or can't make sense of the plan He has laid out for us already. We brush Him off, we turn away, we ignore His love. We chase the wind, we avoid His grace, we manipulate, we control, we hope in all the wrong things. We listen to sin's tempting voice and follow it right back into the dark, cold valley that once seemed so warm and inviting.
We wander, we wander, we wander.
This is heartbreaking. Our Father who gave everything to redeem us, His own Son, we ignore every day and treat as an afterthought. Our Savior, who loved us enough to die in our place, watches us turn away from the cross and run the other way. We've mistreated Him, we've ignored Him, we've tuned Him out with the noise of this world.
"He loves us first, we loved sin more.
He made us without shame, we dirtied the white dress.
He gave us a covenant, we didn't show up at the alter."
But praise God, friends! He loves even the wanderers.
He loves us. He redeems us. He seeks us out. He exposes us. He calls us home. He takes away our sin. He breaks our chains. He makes us new. He empowers us. He sees us as spotless. He humbles us. He invites us in. He binds us to Himself. He forgives.
He pursues, He pursues, and He pursues ever more.
Even though we constantly turn away and hide our face, God never turns from us or hides His love. Even though we consistently doubt His love for us, God continues to draw us in. Even though we repeatedly run away from Him as far as we can, God continues to pursue us.
Although sin will always continue to call us back to our self-sufficient wandering with it's enticing words and fabricated promises, He will always draw us back to Him and welcome us back with open arms as the father with his prodigal son. God is all-knowing of our unfaithfulness, yet He pursues us still. Although we hear the call of our false loves, we always hear the call of our one True Love.
Hosea teaches us that no one is beyond the reach of God's forgiveness, grace, and love. So approach His throne with confidence, friends. No matter how far you've run, how deep the pain, or how wicked the wrong, He actively and persistently pursues you still.
The God who calms the seas and clothes the flowers of the field will never abandon you or turn away.
Praise God, He loves even the wanderers.
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