Hosea 2

I had a dream. In my dream young girls came and got me from my home.  They took me to an old Little Theater where they did my hair, nails, and my makeup.  They made me look younger.  I liked it & looked forward to every Friday night when they would steal me away.  One night they put me on the stage.  In front of me was a wall with windows that were higher than me.  I could hear my husband’s voice saying, “You are beautiful the way you are” over and over.  I got on my tip toes and looked through the window.  He had a Groucho Marx mask on and they had him by the arms & were taking him out as he kept saying the words again and again.  I began to run down the stairs to get him, but a friend was there.  She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me up a different set of stairs.  She said, “You have something on your nose and you’re getting something on your mouth”.

When I woke up I inquired of the Lord.  He reminded me that I was created by Him and FOR Him.  I don’t need the approval of others, I don’t need to listen to others or please others.  HE is the lover of my soul.  He encouraged me to grab an old journal that a friend had given me.  In the front she had written many words of encouragement including scripture, quotes and old sayings.  One was Hosea 2:14-16.  “And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot,” says the Lord.  “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. ¹⁵ I will give her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ “And it shall be, in that day,” Says the Lord, “That you will call Me ‘My Husband, And no longer call Me ‘My Master.

(My Friend’s) Amplified Version - Because I desire intimacy with you, even if you are afraid of such divine closeness and run after other things to fill the void and even though you have forgotten that only I can fill it, I will do this:  “I will draw you gently out of the place you are in and I will lead you into a dry place, a deserted and lonely place and there I will speak precious and tender truths to you.  In that dry, heated place of seeming death and wilderness, I will begin to give you back your fruitfulness.  Not just a cluster of fruitfulness but an entire field of vines that will regenerate and continue to bear fruit through the seasons. And I will make the low places of trouble, the place of mistakes made and old sins help onto, the place of failure and death, I will make that place a door of hope for you. The Valley of Trouble will be the very entryway into your destiny and you will cross the threshold from despair to hope and destruction to salvation.  There you will have your heart renewed and remade.  It will swell with joy and peace.  It will be filled with songs as it did when you were young, when you first were set free from your bondages and held victory over the enemies of your past.  In that day, I will restore the intimacy that has been lost between you and me and you will call me, “My true partner”, “My soul mate” and you will no longer feel that I am your master but that I am your lover and you are mine.

As I read that 1^st line God brought to my attention that in always seeking the next ‘thing to do’, whether it was personal, ministry, household or otherwise important or good thing, I was running from His calling of divine intimacy.  I had spent much time in His presence pre-hurt.  Once I broke through the pain and became healthy again, I kept busy.  I may have been afraid of getting too lost … but I filled the ‘void’ with busy work.  I would hear Him calling.  I could feel His presence hovering over me.  I even desired the time on my face with Him.  I need it like I need the air I breathe.  And yet…I ran.  I couldn’t hide forever because as David says in Psalm 139, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”  Today’s gentle reminder is that He loves me just the way I am.  I need no mask, no fancy words.  I don’t need to prove anything.  I can lay it all down just where I am at, fall to my knees and allow Him wash over me.  Now is a good time.

As a good friend always tells me, we were designed to be human ‘be’ings, not human ‘do’ings.  Be unto the Lord.

Sonship

^{Gal 4:4} But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. ⁶ Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

 His voice was sad today as he told me his son cancelled his Holiday trip to see the family because there was too much going on to have him visit. 

 Her eyes were full of pain as she expressed her concern over a son who hadn’t called in 6 months. 

 He was brimming in smiles and his eyes were shining as he shared a multitude of jokes to someone, anyone really, who would laugh. 

 They sit at a table together sharing memories of Christmas past.  Their eyes filled with faraway thoughts of family, dinners, parties and friends.  No new visits this year with everyone so busy during the Christmas season. 

 He would not have minded if things weren’t perfect for a visit; she would have been happy to just hear her son’s voice. 

 As I visited the senior homes today, my heart was burdened with a desire to show them the love of Jesus to fill the void of physical affection.  I thought of my own parents and how I would have loved to be with them during this season of my Jesus’ birth.   

 I wondered why ‘work’ or ‘business’ would claim 1^st place over a parent whose only desire was to spend time with the children they raised and are proud of. 

 Time and distance can separate us from loved ones these days & may leave us (parents & children alike) with an orphan spirit.  Left to manage our lives without the assistance of those who care for us the most can leave us feeling alone and unwanted.  But this spirit can be broken.   
 Once filled with a sense of the undeserved grace of our Father’s love we are matured into understanding that performance won’t earn love from God or our earthly parents. 



 Those embraced with the spirit of sonship are secure in the Father’s love and favor.  That confidence provides the contentment to joyfully serve in any capacity needed, whether or not it’s celebrated by anyone other than God.  Those walking in a spirit of sonship recognize they are accepted in Christ and serve others out of that abundance.

 The enemy purports there is something to prove, thereby tearing families apart by pride.  But unconditional love does not fade or die away.  Parents desire to gaze into the face of their child, hold them and be a part of their lives for as long as they can.    

 Walking bathed in the joy of sonship offers the firm foundation of security and self-love stemming from a God who never shifts His shadow.  Focusing on Him keeps us on the right track and refutes the need to provide evidence.  Those walking in sonship have God’s rest on their shoulders and can cease from relying on works so He Who Shepherds our lives can have His way in them.

 Being grounded in the Father’s affirmation, Sonship allows us to freely share our love by blessing others at their need.  Though all humans are sinners and fall short of the glory of God those filled with a sense of divine love and acceptance walk through life with a confident gait.  They have no challenge working in the background, preferring others before them or sacrificing time and energy to those who face the mortality of age. 

 The Father loved us so completely that He gave His only Son so that we may not perish but have everlasting life.  The greatest gift we can give each other is to share in this love.

Betrayal and Death

The pain of Betrayal and Death.  Both so close.  A pain that no words can heal, no touch can mend and no smile can be seen during.  That one moment when everything in the world just stops in an unexpected sucker punch from someone you’ve trusted. Both create a sense of rejection, loneliness & uncomfortable emotion.  A pain so deep that it can cut through the marrow of your very foundation, allowing the enemy to come in like a flood and remind you of all the reasons you hate to look in the mirror.  Gloating in the corner, his once apparent smirk becomes a grin in disillusionment; almost, but not quite, believable. 

There is a choice; to wallow in unforgiveness, bitterness & pity or go to the Throne Room.  On my face before the One who has loved me through every dirty deed, I ask for His grace.  I have hurt others; I am not sinless and do not expect others to be.  But that knowledge doesn’t heal the hurt, it just offers pardon.  It doesn’t take away the sting, but does allow me to turn the other cheek.  So I lay there and wait for the inevitable Word; the Grace that is all sufficient to see me through. 

And it comes by way of Psalm 23.  ^“God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.  Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side.  Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.  You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.  You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.  Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.  I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.”  (The Message)

What’s at that banqueting table of good foods?  What pleasures does He share with me to assuage my need for revenge or at best ‘get evens’?  I search through the bowls and plates of fruits and find love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, longsuffering and faithfulness.  Ah…faithfulness…devotion, loyalty, dedication.  In any relationship these are authentic displays of love.  Releasing these in the face of hurt will surely bring joy and peace as I pour out on another as my Father would to me.

The pain of Betrayal and Death.  Both so close and yet one need not be eternal.  I choose to go the way of the Lord when He declared from the cross, ‘Forgive them Father for they know not what they do’.  Walking down this dreary, dark hallway today I see a door and under the door a light.  I am going to open that door and walk in the way of the truth that will set me free.