Day Ten

“I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.” (Hosea 11:4)

Scripture Reading: Hosea 11:1–4; Joel 2:18–32

Thousands of years ago, God made a covenant with a wanderer named Abram to raise up a nation through which He would bring the Savior of the world. In Hosea 11:1–4, God talks about that nation. He describes Israel as a child He nurtured and taught to walk. God describes the countless ups and downs with His “child” and how when she rebelled against Him or rejected His love, God remained faithful to His covenant. He made promises to this child, and He honored His Word.

Although at times Israel was unfaithful, God was faithful. Why?

The answer is hidden in Deuteronomy 7:6–8: “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers.” God is faithful to His people because He loves.

Of all God’s wonders, I am perhaps most astonished by His stubborn love. Through the long roller-coaster ride of history, God continued to love Israel—and He will continue to love us.

Our obedience on this earth directly influences blessing and reward, but it has nothing to do with His love. He cannot look at you apart from His love. He cannot hear your pleas for mercy with anything but a Father’s ear. He is incapable of being unbiased toward you. He cannot momentarily resign His position as your Father to make an impartial decision. He’s committed, no matter what.

You cannot explain or comprehend God’s persistent love. It’s just how He is. You are His child. First John 4:16 says, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.” We can’t “rely” on something we have never accepted. God’s love for us is lavish (see 1 John 3:1). By the time we were knit in our mothers’ wombs, our lives were like open books before Him—every sentence read, every paragraph indented, every chapter titled, every page numbered. He knew it all in advance—all the sin, all the selfishness, every weakness. Yet He chose to love us—lavishly. Sometimes God allows us to reach a point where we realize we can rely on absolutely nothing—except His love.

Perhaps you are one who thinks that God shouldn’t be bothered with the little things you can handle alone. Have you faced a circumstance over which you had no control? Do you remember the relief and release you felt when you lifted that burden to Him?

God is willing to take every burden, every day, even the ones we think we can fix in our own strength. He will give us that relief and release daily. Try it—right now.