6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.
14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name...
19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.
Psalm 139:5
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
I've written about the waiting game before.
Waiting on God is one of the hardest things in the world.
Nope. Scratch that!
Waiting on God patiently and with a good attitude is one of the hardest things in the world.
OK, so I've already failed at my New Year's resolution: "I want to do less bellyaching in 2013!"
I've been bellyaching and having a bad attitude left and right! My family and I have been going through a lot lately:
Last night, some crazy person drove past our apartment complex twice, laying on the horn, and screaming, "F*ck you!!!"
I don't know who was the target of this person's drive-by verbal and noise attack, but it was just another sign to us that we've GOT to get out of this apartment complex ASAP! That bizarre incident was just one of many bad things that have been happening lately. I feel like I'm coming to the end of my rope.
So, I'm waiting on God for a new job/career opportunity, a new living situation, to find a church family, etc., etc...
In the mean time, I feel like God has me hedged in: I'm not able to change any of these situations on my own. All I can do is sit tight and wait.
But how I wait is the important thing.
Will I wait lovingly, patiently, faithfully?
Or will I wait murmuring, complaining, grumbling, hateful, and angry?
I think I've been fluctuating between the two.
But Hosea 2 (and Psalm 139) doesn't just describe being hedged in. It describes seeking deliverance from sources other than God.
God doesn't want me seeking deliverance from a job, from a man, from friends, from money, from anything or anyone but Him!
And I think that's part of my problem: Not intentionally or consciously, but I tend to place my hope in sources other than God.
That's like idolatry!
It's almost like if I don't get that job or that man or that friend--life just won't be worth living!!! How stupid!!!
Jesus is my reason for living!
I'm working on getting my head back on straight...
In the mean time, I'll keep waiting, keep holding onto the scriptures.
I know deliverance is coming!
Psalm 40:1-4
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust...
I've been bellyaching and having a bad attitude left and right! My family and I have been going through a lot lately:
Last night, some crazy person drove past our apartment complex twice, laying on the horn, and screaming, "F*ck you!!!"
I don't know who was the target of this person's drive-by verbal and noise attack, but it was just another sign to us that we've GOT to get out of this apartment complex ASAP! That bizarre incident was just one of many bad things that have been happening lately. I feel like I'm coming to the end of my rope.
So, I'm waiting on God for a new job/career opportunity, a new living situation, to find a church family, etc., etc...
In the mean time, I feel like God has me hedged in: I'm not able to change any of these situations on my own. All I can do is sit tight and wait.
But how I wait is the important thing.
Will I wait lovingly, patiently, faithfully?
Or will I wait murmuring, complaining, grumbling, hateful, and angry?
I think I've been fluctuating between the two.
But Hosea 2 (and Psalm 139) doesn't just describe being hedged in. It describes seeking deliverance from sources other than God.
God doesn't want me seeking deliverance from a job, from a man, from friends, from money, from anything or anyone but Him!
And I think that's part of my problem: Not intentionally or consciously, but I tend to place my hope in sources other than God.
That's like idolatry!
It's almost like if I don't get that job or that man or that friend--life just won't be worth living!!! How stupid!!!
Jesus is my reason for living!
I'm working on getting my head back on straight...
In the mean time, I'll keep waiting, keep holding onto the scriptures.
I know deliverance is coming!
Psalm 40:1-4
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust...
Amen! I totally relate to this. I struggle with this too. It is very hard at times not to seek your hope in a man. I am going to look up this verse b/c it seems to be saying that if you have sought out attention from these other sources (which like you said is a form of idolatry) that God will woo you back into His arms and be willing to take you back. I think it is hard especially as a Christian if you've fallen into finding your worth in a man and maybe comprimising yourself then you feel so ashamed that maybe God cannot forgive you. It is hard b/c you know better. I think this passage speaks clearly that he will welcome us back and still love us
ReplyDeleteHi Holly. I agree completely. What I love about this passage in Hosea is that it seems to be saying that if we look for deliverance in other sources, God will completely strip us. He won't allow us to be successful if we look to anyone or anything except Him. When we finally come to the end of ourselves, we find Him in the wilderness, arms outstretched.
DeleteI absolutely know what you mean about shame. I grew up in a Christian household and believe in Christ from a child. I wish I could say I kept myself pure...but I can't. I sinned...over and over and over again. I was so happy that guys found me pretty (after being called ugly for so many years). I'd fornicate, ask Jesus to forgive me, then do it again.
After a few years of this nonsense, I finally realized what I was really doing: I was committing adultery. I was cheating on my Husband. I was cheating on the only One who completely loved me. Breaking His heart over and over again. Once the scales finally fell from my eyes, I repented, truly repented. I pray to God I remain strong and pure until our Lord Jesus returns.
Yes, I still feel the same of what I did, how many times I hurt Him. All I can do now is protect the heart of the One I love, instead of breaking it.