“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.” – Hosea 6:1-3
Hosea leads Israel in a humble prayer instead of arguing with God or resenting His correction. As Ezra prayed to ask forgiveness for the sins of the people in Israel, Hosea exhorts the people to return to the Lord. Why? Because He is the only one who may seal us, the only one who may bind us up.
Hosea refers to Jesus´ death and resurrection: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up.” Those who are in Christ will surely live through hard times, but we have been given eternal life and have the certainty that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).
In Hosea 4:6, Hosea described Israel´s problem: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Today, he encourages the people to press on, to know the Lord. I like this idea. We need to realize that being in God´s Word every day and getting to know the Lord is a struggle. We have to press on every day and persevere to be close to Him and grow in our knowledge of Him.
Dear Heavenly Father, there are a lot of things in my day that call for my attention. Help me prioritize my time with You. I want to know You more. I want to know You better. My heart longs for You. Amen.
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I have been struggling with how to put can first while a have a thousand other things in my life. I returned to school at the age 56 it has been a struggle and has taken a lot of time from my relationship with the LORD. I hate that I seem to put school and work before my relationship with him. I want a better life for me and my family, but I know my struggle is because my attention needs to be on GOD first. Some days I get up and 4am and read my bible and this makes me so happy knowing I place GOD first on that days, but it is the days that I do not get up and read and pray to the Lord instead I turn on my computer and struggle with school or work. Please pray for me to put GOD first in all things before my day begins. I know I love GOD , but when I do not put him first I question my faith and that makes me unhappy. Please pray for me!
I had the same problem many years ago and finally determined that I needed a new HABIT … A GOOD HABIT of getting up before my household and spending quality, peaceful time with my Heavenly Father, the dog, and a cup of coffee! We awoke around 5am, I set the coffee to drip, let the dog out … let her back in … coffee ready to be fixed, sat down in my devotion chair and had a delightful time with Him! May I say again, it’s a GOOD HABIT that has to be done consistently … and I’m the only one who can make that determination for me! Rarely was I interrupted by family, world, or the evil one because of the planned working of my devotional habit! I had a solid hour and a half before our kids were up, my husband was up, and I had to get breakfast for them, pack lunches, and get me ready for work at church … I was an admin! I have been retired for almost seven years, a bit early because of chronic pain after many surgeries, but I’m still getting up early … my “internal clock” has its alarm set for between 5 and 6:30am! Rarely do I sleep any later, and now I have three (at least) hours of solid time alone with the Lord … still letting out the dog (different one), my honey makes the coffee, but I iron for him because after retiring, he was asked back part time as the “Care Pastor”. I facilitate the email prayer ministry of nearly 80 people and am blessed to facilitate one of these wonderful LGG groups of ladies! Please try introducing the new GOOD HABIT into your life, be strong with the Spirit’s might, and don’t give up! It’s the best HABIT you will ever experience!! SONshine to you, my sister (Ephesians 5:14) ❤️
Good stuff. Thank you Angela and to the two that commented. I have walked both the need to fit a study time in and the habit. Thank you Jesus because you are all I need. Thank you Love God Greatly for the daily reminder.