Return to the Lord
"Come, and let us return to the LORD;
For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but 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 in His sight. Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD." - Hosea 6:1-3
May we know that our Lord is looking and longing for us! He desires that we have loyal hearts that belong to Him and long for Him the way He does for us. It is close, intimate fellowship with us that God is after! Isn't that amazing! God desires to be with us...to commune with us...abide with us...and to manifest His life in and through us.
God sees when our hearts stray in the slightest of ways. He sees our disloyalty and idolatrous tendencies. He sees when we bring the filth of the world with us and then come to His holy throne of grace to pray or worship. He sees the weary heart that has lost its way. He sees the false gods that have no power and no love but, with the help of Satan, these same false gods allure and secure the hearts of men.
BUT GOD calls us...invites us...compels us...and even commands us to RETURN TO HIM! This means to turn away from our idols and false gods and passing pleasures of sin. It means that we truly give God our all and that our hearts, not our garments, are rent in order to be spent for Him!
When we draw near to God, He always draws near to us. He is always ready. He is never the One who moved away from. We are the ones who selfishly go away and go astray and let our hearts serve something other than Him. But Jesus calls us to serve Him alone, saying, "for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and (fill in the blank)." (Matt. 6:24)
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." WHAT GOD SEES God sees the sin that is hidden (Gen. 3) God sees the will that struggles (Gen. 32) God sees the battle for your soul (Eph. 6:12)
WHAT DESIRES TO SEE God desires to see the heart that is loyal (2 Chron 16:9) God desires to see the faith that pleases Him (Heb. 11:6)
God spoke through the prophet Hosea, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). Let us know God intimately and spend time learning and yearning for Him.
When we COME, RETURN, KNOW, and PURSUE the knowledge of the Lord, He will come to us like the former and latter rain. Here is what we can expect God to do...
He will HEAL us...BIND us up...He will REVIVE us and He will RAISE us up!
HEART WORK
- Have you identified what false gods and idols you turn to and long for when you are not serving and worshipping God?
- How can you destroy those idols and crush your false gods so that you don't run after them?
- What does returning to the Lord look like for you and what kind of revival can you testify of that God is doing right now? Pray now...Pray often...REVIVE ME O LORD, REVIVE ME!