Corona Devo 281

Oh, the thrills of serving and giving and making-merry at Christmas-time!  It is a rush...until it is a crash.  Have you been in this ebb and flow of holiday-activity-waves rising (with great things) and then crashing (with too-little sleep and too-much non-stop bustle)?  

I love the filling-of-my-soul that serving others brings, but when I get frazzled, my attitude becomes loud and belligerent, just like an off-kilter washing machine.  And I spun into that cycle yesterday.

Rushing, impatience and curt words are not only the opposite of God's example of love to us, but we are being unfaithful to Him when we behave in that way.  As I knelt for my prayers last night, the guilt (and shame) of my negative body-language and verbal mistreatment of others washed over me.  When we fall into these sins, we are cheating on God.

Remorse is a healthy thing, and owning our unfaithfulness to God is a tool for avoiding it in the future.  I don't want to dishonor God like that again anytime soon.  

If you have wanted to do good, but have ended up doing too much, (or thinking too much), and getting off-kilter, the Lord understands.  He does not stand in judgement of our faith-infidelity (if you will), rather He welcomes us back with love into union with Him.  The Lord presents an image of being our faithful bridegroom.

(19) I will take you to be my wife forever.  I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion.  (20) I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.  ~Hosea 2:19-20

These verses come from the Book of Hosea.  God gave Hosea the difficult assignment of marrying a prostitute.  Sometimes God will give us difficult assignments.  Hosea obeyed.  God's point was to exemplify the wandering and unfaithfulness of Israel (His chosen people), and to demonstrate that God still loved Israel even though they were unfaithful to Him.  He chose the image of bride and bridegroom to portray it.

Does the concept of being unfaithful to God feel familiar?   It does to me, especially after yesterday.   (I love my family too much to treat them that way, and when we treat others poorly, we are also hurting God.)  I went to bed in prayers of shame. 

But God wakes us up today with the forgiveness of the faithful bridegroom that He is to us.  He knows what we did, thought, said yesterday and yet: I will take you to be my wife forever.  I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion.  (20) I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.  ~Hosea 2:19-20

These verses are oozing with love and value for us.  Even though our sin has made us unfaithful to God, He loves us anyway and welcomes us back.  Doesn't this make your heart explode?   And it draws me ever closer to this God who loves us even though.  I want more of Him!  ...you will know the Lord. ~Hosea 2:20.    

Our wanderings toward our own selfish desires, worldly gain, and even sometimes in getting caught up in serving others are trespasses against God, and He knows that they occur, regardless of the season.  And yet God redeems us.  

Forgive our prostitution-of-spirit, Lord.  Hosea was forgiving and selfless to his unfaithful wife--just as You are so faithful and hopeful of us.  You see our good-intentions and You forgive our sin and wandering.  Allow our hearts to return to You and to be faithful to You today!

Hosea isn't the only Book of the Bible that references God as our bridegroom/husband.  The image resurfaces in at least 5 other books, including Isaiah, and so does God's amazing theme of His love and redemption for our "union" with Him, even though we (as sinners) have threatened to soil it.  The Lord is faithful, even when we are not.  

"You will no longer remember the shame of your youth...  5 For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!  He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.  6 For the Lord has called you back"... ~Isaiah 54:4-5

I love this image of God, although it humbles me to the core.  Whether you need to hear this message from God about sins of your past, or sins of your yesterday (like me), God tells us to leave our shame behind (You will no longer remember the shame of your youth), and He receives us in love and non-judgement.  He is your Redeemer(!)  We can begin fresh and forgiven and filled with Him today.

Lord, we praise You for being our faithful bridegroom, even though we have been unfaithful to You, to Your plans for us, to Your discipline for us, to Your rules for our good.  

And yet...You have waited for us.  You see us as who we CAN BE with You as our bridegroom and leader, instead of allowing the world and sin to hold that role.  You wait for us.  Ever-patient and loving.  I praise You for seeing us.  

Thank you for continually pursuing us as Your bride, even though we are tainted by sin-of-self.  Thank You for capturing our hearts, Lord, and forgive us for wasted attitudes (whatever the season!), wasted time and wasted efforts.  Father, thank You for loving us more deeply and fully than we can grasp.  Enable us to love You and others as You do.  Your grace melts us.  Let it change and focus our efforts in serving You.   

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com/