Have you ever felt like an exiled child, wandering in the desert and without relief? You find yourself in a parched land, asking yourself, “how did I get here and how do I exit?”

God has sent us out to follow him and we end up complaining, confused and full of excuses. He saves us from ourselves time and time again, even if we find ourselves exiled in the desert. When will we learn from these wandering experiences that we can’t find nourishment once we’re dragging ourselves through that sand?

We search for a way out with self-indulgence and idols of pop culture. It’s the same for us now as for our ancestors. From golden calves and towering poles to selfie likes and materialistic hordes, we are not that far off from trying to fill our own selfish needs as those who came before us.

Solomon was there with the rest of us, falling over self and wealth, yet wisdom kept bringing him back around, proclaiming truth that has rang true from the  East of Eden all the way to our backyards.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.

God has rescued us so many times. We see a love story of faith and forgiveness in the book of Hosea. This man was spoken to by the Lord in order to set an example for a fallen people. He wanted them to be reminded of His promises and truth.

Hosea is called to marry an unfaithful women who births three children. These children may or may not even be Hosea’s, but he names them and tends to them. His wife continues on with her affairs despite Hosea’s promise to care for her. She wants to go after these lovers and find a means of living from their indulgences.

Instead of Hosea giving up, shaming and punishing his bride, the Lord commands him to take her in.

Hosea 3:1  NIV The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.’

Instead of punishing His people, the Lord uses Gomer as an example of how He will attend to His people.

2:14-15 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness
    and speak tenderly to her.
 There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”

Just as He saved them in the desert, He will save them in the wilderness they wander in now. They have fallen away and He will call them home.   After awhile of wandering from the truth, He will restore them.

2:4-5  For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.

The Messianic King will come back and change everything, forgiving and ruling over God’s people forever. He will wash us clean of our sins and nourish us so that we don’t seek fulfillment in gluttonous desires.

We see a love story. Hosea loves Gomer and makes a home for her despite her sin against him. He cares for her children, and mends her broken life. All of these things Jesus does for us.  He makes us a home, tends to our brokeness and loves us forever. We need to look no further than the truth. No man or action of our own will bring us our ultimate needs. The love story that God had poured out for us is the ultimate truth that should leave us in awe, and nothing more.

As I think more about this story, and about my own life, I see so much hurting inside my own relationships, or between loved ones. I have to remind myself  that we have a faithful God. He doesn’t leave His children behind. If the Spirit was with us before and we walk away for a time, His will can bring us back. He won’t leave us in the sand. We hurt for ourselves or for others. Sometimes we get too bitter or angry to confront the issues with love, wisdom or humility, but we can be faithful in our prayers and petition.  We can be part of the outpouring of love from the greatest story ever written.

I am so grateful that this particular love story never ends. The stars in our eyes my dim, and our hearts may not flutter, but the love of the Lord remains stronger than any thing that you may try to compare.  Let this remaining verse bring us all some hope in any wandering that we may be lost in.

Hosea 6:3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.