40 Days of Believing God – Day 31.

The first time God spoke to Hosea He said: “Find a whore and marry her. Make this whore the mother of your children. And here’s why: This whole country has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to Me, God.”  (Hosea 1:2)

Imagine hearing that the very first time God spoke to you.

Ah, God? Did You just say what I think You said?

Why in the world did God tell Hosea to do that?

God was going to use Hosea’s marriage as an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness in their relationship with Him.

Later in Hosea, God says:

When Israel was only a child, I loved him. I called out, “My son!–called him out of Egypt. But when others called him, he ran off and left Me. He worshiped the popular sex gods, he played at religion with toy gods. Still, I stuck with him.”

And:

I’m still your God, the God who saved you out of Egypt. I’m the only real God you’ve ever known. I’m the one and only God who delivers. I took care of you during the wilderness hard times, those years when you had nothing. I took care of you, took care of all your needs, gave you everything you needed. You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need Me. You forgot Me.

James writes:

You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find.

What does God want?

He wants you. He wants your love. He wants you to be faithful to Him. He wants you to delight in Him and not anyone or anything else.

He’s a jealous lover.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

To “delight” means “to take great pleasure.”

Take great pleasure in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

What do you take great pleasure in?

Money? Possessions? A relationship? Food? Sex? Golf? Shopping? Television? Pornography? Career?

Our biggest problem is adultery. We’re cheaters. We’re married to God, but sleeping with other lovers.

Yet, He loves us and longs for us to return to Him.

What if you decided to take great pleasure in God? What would that look like? Would you spend more time reading His word to know Him better? Would you talk with Him more often? Would you worship Him more?

Is there another lover you need to break things off with?

Decide to make God your greatest source of pleasure. Don’t worry if you’re feelings aren’t there yet. Make the decision. Make the commitment. Then act on it. Your feelings will catch up later.

What if you made God your greatest desire and chose to delight in Him…and then He gave you Himself?

Okay, I can’t help ending with this.