God's Tenacious Love
How can I give you up, O Ephraim? For I am God and not man. (Hosea 11:8-9)
Hos. 11; Deut. 7:7-8; Jer. 31:3; Matt. 23:37; John 3:16; Rom. 5:8
What Is God Saying?
In Hosea’s time, Israel (the Northern Kingdom) had gone about as far as they could—away from God. The prophet's message was to a doomed kingdom, yet he kept repeating the warning of their impending ruin until the end of 722 B.C. It is hard to imagine how a nation could reject God so entirely and plunge itself into self-destruction. It is hard until we reflect upon events in our time. By turning from God, all ages, including our own, have invited disaster and death. Hosea spoke from a broken heart. The people God chose had not chosen Him. Time and again, they gave up God's love and chose evil. Still, God could not give them up.
How Does This Apply To Us?
All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. But we can all accept God's love and receive His gift, the Lord Jesus Christ. "How can I give you up, Ephraim?" The cross is the ultimate proof of God's love. It was God, not a human, who suffered there. Only God could save us. Pray in confidence that God's love will never give us up.
Pray With Me
Your love, O God, is divine, not human. Whenever I live as though You do not exist, I give You up. Yet, because You are God and not human, I can turn to You and find You. "How can I give You up?" Let this question bring peace into my heart that the world, with all its doubts and fears, can never destroy. Let it bring me joy, which the world can never give. Let it make me strong to walk through crumbling foundations with neither dread nor despair. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" If God never gives me up, of whom shall I ever be afraid? How can I give up You, O God, who has given up all for me in Christ?
In the name of Him, whose sacrifice on Calvary is the proof of love that never gives up. Amen.
Moving On In The Life Of Prayer
It helps to pray when we know that God is listening. He has not turned a deaf ear to our cries for help nor exclamations of joy. When we pray with this confidence, we move on in the life of prayer. It changes prayer from ritual into trust. Don't give up on prayer. God hasn't given up on us.
