JMD Devotional 174 Hosea 14:1-5 Positive Confession

O ISRAEL, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled and fallen, [visited by calamity] due to your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord. Say to Him, Take away all our iniquity; accept what is good and receive us graciously; so will we render [our thanks] as bullocks [to be sacrificed] and pay the confession of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the work of our hands [idols], You are our gods. For in You [O Lord] the fatherless find love, pity, and mercy. I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely, for My anger is turned away from [Israel]. I will be like the dew and the night mist to Israel; he shall grow and blossom like the lily and cast forth his roots like [the sturdy evergreens of] Lebanon.

After a lot of 'gloom and doom' prophecy to a rebellious Israel, God through Hosea invites the people to reconciliation. He gives them a positive confession that acknowledges their sin and God's graciousness. The heart of God is clearly revealed; He loves His wayward children and He longs to restore and to bless them. The next move is with you and me.

Dear God,
My problem today is not with total apostasy; but I have let some areas of my life slip. I try so hard, but I cannot juggle everything without letting things drop. I have broken relationships in blind self-righteousness; I have neglected to care for the needs of others in my self-absorption. Forgive my sins, though they are many and my misery is of my own making. Please show me what to let go of, and how to manage my life in Christ. I believe that You will heal me and restore my walk with You because You are good and gracious to sinners, and You will receive the broken hearted. Thank You, Lord God Almighty.
Amen

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