Going Back

Hosea 12

In this chapter God is reminding Ephraim what He has done for them and is warning him about his deceitful ways and about the people he is trying to influence with his deceit.
Then in verse 8 Ephraim is telling God how rich he has become and how God would find no sin in him, oh but in verse 9 God tells him that He would make him live in tents again.

This study has really been a life application study for me, It reminds me to look back and to see how faithful God has been to me, and it shows me how God will take us back when He is ready to show us how we really are. We sometimes get too self sufficient and do not rely on God as we did in times of trouble and when we were in great need of His presence.

When we step out of God's will for our lives we become involved in other things that are not pleasing to God and become slack in our worship, our offerings, and our witness to others.
When we put other things in our lives and push God aside, these "things" become our idols, because they divide our interests and we feed our need and neglect God's will for us.

God says He will take us back to live in tents. We often tend to forget what God has done for us.
In doing so we may experience troubles in our marriage, other relationships with family or friends, trouble with finances. Does it seem as though we move forward and gain ground and them something will happen that will knock us back and we find ourselves struggling over the same problems over and over again and then there are some new ones thrown in on top of everything?
We can get so focused on being in the "rat race" and having confidence in everything that we have and are hoping to accomplish that we find ourselves moving in a fast forward mode.

In verse 9 God reminds us that He will push the rewind button if our intentions and motives are not in alignment with His.

God has a work to do in each of His children. He has given each one of us a testimony. Let us all be careful to do His calling. It could be only "our" witness to someone, family, friend, or stranger that depends on where they will be spending eternity.
If we continually find ourselves in a "tent" we should search our hearts and see what God wants us to change.
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(this is part of one of my studies for this month, I am posting it because God has taken me back and told me He wants more from this space than just announcements)
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In His Service With Love, Brenda