20180622_23162620180630_074231A couple of months back on my birthday I was gifted with this amazing book, I looked at the cover and did the most cliche thing … I judged a book by its cover. For months the book set in the queue waiting for its turn.  A few weeks ago I am chatting to another friend and in our conversation that I can no longer remember much of except this, she insist that I read a book by author Francine Rivers called Redeeming Love. I had forgotten this book is sitting there on my shelf waiting for me so I said I would find it.  A couple of days later my friend knocks at my home and delights me with a copy of this book. I then recognise the familiarity of  the cover, only this time I had been hyped up about how it will change my life. So I did not waste any more time.

For weeks I rushed through days counting hours to the time when I will have coffee with Francine.  The story of Hosea captured me in a way I hadn’t anticipated.  Everything felt like a time stealer from the deep love story of Angel and Hosea.  I  have taken many coffee moments to run through these paragraphs and pages chasing the next chapter, feeling for Hosea wondering why God would do such a thing to a man such as this.  I had the most compassion for Angel praying she would forgive herself for what life had dealt her.  The past weeks were filled with confusion, questions, joy , hope and buckets of tears.  I was truly moved and thought to share a few lessons I have learned about God from the story of Hosea.

  • God’s unwavering love and understanding. All of us know Jesus was special and His predestined path was nothing short of miracles and wonders. But God knew this may be a barrier for some of us, we may put faith barriers on ourselves because we are not Christ and only Christ can endure certain things.  This is why there needed to be a man like you and me called Hosea who would have to go through the most in pursuit of love and honoring God. I have since gone back to the bible to read the book of Hosea. The story of Hosea is a metaphor in the days of the Israelites and us today. The relationship between Hosea and Gomer His wife in the bible depicts a story of an unfaithful wife. The husband represents God and the wife represents a nation. We are the nation, unfaithful to God but He is constant and hopeful that we will return to Him.  Like Gomer (Angel), we are prostituting our spirituality and souls  to many things of the world. We are prostituting our spirituality to alcohol abuse, drunkenness, inappropriate sexual behaviours, theft , jealousy and hatred. We prostitute our time and leave God to get our “last days”. Even when things are going well for us we are not satisfied, like Angel we find excuses to go back to our old ways. We are attracted by sin and it’s short term gratification because it is easy to default to what we have always done even with new knowledge.
  • Affirmation that  salvation is personal. No matter how many times people pray for you and plead with God to open your eyes of understanding, it is really you who can seal the deal.  Hosea prayed for his wife, day and night he pleaded with God but it is she who had to say ” It is I  oh Lord,  who stands in the need of prayer”  Angel needed to seek God and want Him for herself. This lesson has changed how I pray for others. I will no longer impose things I wish for you. Today I pray God gives you a burden to seek Him and have a relationship with Him. That when you are struggling to reconcile things that are not going well in your life you do not go into hiding but will forge forward and have courage to remind God of His promises like Angel did. she sang like the Lord says in the book of Isaiah “Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.” The story is exceptional because it humanises in a modern day a biblical story and affirms such important biblical principles around belief and faith.
  • Be vulnerable and allow God to  work in you. Even with tears in your eyes, trembling with fear of the unknown, it is good to let your walls come down and not be rushed into rebuilding. Salvation is a journey, it is like giving birth to a new baby. It is indeed a woman’s divine privilege, we are guided by intuition and instincts through out the process. It is the same intuition and instinct that guides us in our spiritual journey. The heart is a powerful campus when its aligned to our maker.  When we follow through we can’t possibly go wrong.

Redeeming Love is a powerful read about God’s love for His people. A bik i will probably read again. But in the spirit of giving, I would like to give my second copy of the book to someone who will read and benefit from it. If you are a new Christian or struggling to break a habit you know is not a good one for you or you know someone who would benefit from it please share the post with them and get them to comment on the blog and let me know.  It  is one of those books that will teach many of us different lessons.  Here is only my take.

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, that He may heal us; for he has stricken, and He will bind us up.” Hosea 6:1

ChurchGirl

LM.