Restoration in the Wilderness
It’s a new year, and most people are resolving to have a better year than the last. Maybe 2013 was a good year for you. But maybe it was tougher than you expected. Maybe it felt a bit like being in the wilderness. You know what I mean: That feeling you’re wandering aimlessly, not able to hear God clearly, walking endlessly around the same mountain without getting anywhere. I’ve heard lots of “wilderness messages” based on Moses and the Israelites; the general focus is on believing God so He doesn't leave you stuck in the desert. Today I’m going to challenge that a bit. Rather than go back to Moses, I’m going to take us to the perhaps less-familiar Hosea. Hosea was a prophet whom God instructed to marry a promiscuous woman, in order to mirror Israel’s adulterous relationship with God. The book is the story of God’s relentless love for His unfaithful Bride. In chapter 2, Israel’s Husband is speaking of how He will win her back: “Therefore I am now going to allur...