Sometimes, in the early morning hours as I have my devotions, my mind is not totally focused on God. It just runs away with me, like a train barreling down a track, as I think of all I have to accomplish that day and the people that I have to talk to. Hosea is an interesting book of the Bible because at the beginning of the book, God tells Hosea to take a wife who has prostituted herself. He wants Hosea to feel the betrayal that God Himself feels when we turn away from Him to other things, to other gods. Anything or anyone that is more important in our lives than God is becomes an idol, another god to us. So, God tells Hosea that He is in His place, just waiting for the people to repent and seek Him. Then, He says something that caught my full attention this morning: In their affliction they will earnestly seek me. Isn’t that true? When we are having problems, we turn to God and ask for His intervention. But when life is going along smoothly, we have a tendency not to even acknowledge God’s presence in our lives. God desires that we get to the point in our lives that He is a part of our everyday routine, no matter what is happening to us. I hate that the world has taken the Lord’s name and uses it in vain constantly. OMG is heard everywhere and seen online almost daily. That is NOT earnestly seeking God! In fact, it is using His name in a way that is disrespectful. We who hear this epithet daily have begun to just overlook it as what it is. I used to tell my students who said this, “Okay. You have His attention because you called on His name. Now, tell Him what you want or tell Him ‘Never mind’ because God is busy tending to His creation.” Some in my class would then snicker while the offending student would try to figure out just what I was saying. I was telling them in my own way that God desires that we earnestly, wholeheartedly seek Him. After all, the Word tells us that we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole hearts. God doesn’t want us just using His Name and then moving on with our life. He needs us to pause, to reflect on who He is and why He is great and to be praised. We have a tendency to ask God to bless the mess that we have made of our lives and to get us out of trouble. Then, when He does, we just keep on digging holes for ourselves to get stuck in. What would it be like if we truly sought the Lord about what He wants us to do that day, what He desires that we accomplish? Maybe sometimes, all He wants is for us to sit at His feet and worship, to learn more about His character. I am sure that God does not want His children to suffer, but I am equally sure that He allows us to get ourselves into trouble because He allows us to operate in the free will that He has given us. If you have ever been around small children, you know that they want to try new things. And in so doing, many times they get into trouble and call out to you to help them escape whatever mischief has captured them. That is us! We get into trouble and we call on God. However, in my devotional this morning, God has spoken clearly to me that it would be so much better if we would call on Him before the trouble begins, before we take that step that gets us into a situation that is untenable. God wants us to earnestly seek Him daily and then to live our lives, knowing that His Holy Spirit goes with us wherever we go and whatever we do. I’m trying to do what this verse says and I’m waiting with expectation for what my Heavenly Father will do. I hope that you have that same expectation and excitement as you wait for God to act! Blessings on you and your day.

One Thing by Hillsong Worship