In the second chapter there are some verses that the Lord led me to years ago. I did not understand them as I do today or as I will in the future as it is always unfolding to me. In the beginning He is uncovering Israel's sinful ways, hedging her ways with thorns and difficulty. It seems only judgement at first but then comes God's ever purposeful mercy and grace to heal her.....
14 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
15 And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall sing as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. - Hosea 2:14-15
The wilderness.......ah, a constant place God brings His children when He wants to become central in their lives. What is the wilderness?
According to the dictionary:
1a (1) : a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings
(2) : an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community
b : an empty or pathless area or region
So, this does not sound like a very promising place to be led to but here you have it. God leads many of us in this path and it is for very good reasons. When we are stripped of all that we depend on so highly and need God so desperately, it is there that we have a soul transforming revelation of the Lord that we claim to know so well. It is there His love is revealed to us in endless waves of mercy and truth. And it is there we fall at His feet in passionate abandonment. It was the place our own Lord went to be tested and returned filled with the Spirit and power.
What is in the wilderness? According to what we hear and read, it is empty, without human life and development. But In verse 15 He says something that in human terms would not seem plausible. He will give her vineyards from there......life where there is no life. And in the valley of Achor ( translated, "trouble") He will make it a door of HOPE.
Hope? In a valley of trouble, hope? Yes!! And ..... a song! A song with the same passion of first love. Remember singing and worshipping with your whole heart when you first got saved and brought to the light. He says In the wilderness, in the valley of, yes, even trouble He will make us fruitful and alive.
The world is hurting and in the dark and you and I have been called to be light. How can we offer Hope if we have never come to the place where it is real to us. Believe me, they will tell if you are believing in your own words or not. They can tell if you are passionate about Who you claim to be in love with and if He is the person all your hope lies in. We cannot change ourselves without the Lord's Spirit so we cannot change the world around us without His power and Presence..
I have seen much in my short life already, I've seen mountains of of what the world calls greatness, like wealth, affluence, popularity and the such. And I've seen valleys of humiliation, loss of almost all things, where those around you who should be cheering you on judge now how low you have come. Where you stand alone for a time and you look around and all you see is wilderness and trouble. But".................there I have seen it! The Door of Hope! Jesus Christ Himself my only Savior and lover of my soul. He pours His endless love upon me in waves of mercy and grace and my eyes see what I could not have seen on the mountain. I lay at His feet in humility in utter gratefulness and awe. Then I rise and go in His power and share the testimony that He has given me and so many before.........
That despite suffering, despite pain, despite loss......we have HOPE. Hope that does not make us ashamed because the Love of God has been shed abroadin our hearts by the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. I can testify that this is verily true. That in a wilderness of pain, loss and loneliness I have seen Him and been filled with Hope for a lost world. I must return to civilization now and touch those around me, give them the message that there can be beauty from ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, songs in the night because I have been there. As I recently read what Corrie Ten Boom shared, "There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still." If He has brought you there He will show you there His vast ability to save to the uttermost those who have put their trust in Him.
Amen! May we all testify!
