“Oh, that we might know the Lord!
Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn
or the coming of rains in the early spring.” - Hosea 6:3
It’s raining!
Here in Florida, during spring, it usually rains a lot. This spring, however, has been different. The daily rains ceased several weeks ago and it has been bone dry. And that dryness has provided the ideal environment for the many destructive fires that have sprung up in communities around us. At the very least, all of us have had to reduce water consumption and watch as our lawns have turned brown.
Right now, it’s raining. The sound of the rain on my roof is like music. Let it rain!
The ancient Prophet Hosea experienced what we’ve been feeling. The dryness in which he lived was way past unpleasant and annoying; it had become life-threatening. The weeks had begun to run together in a monotonous succession of hot, cloudless days and nights. But like us, Hosea awaited the joy and the refreshing that eventually comes with a change of season and much needed rain.
We don’t know the appointed days that God has instructed the clouds to gather together and release their bounty. But we do know that the rains will come. Just as surely as dawn follows the dark, so the rains are sure to arrive. And so we wait. What other choice do we have?
Our spiritual lives have their seasons as well. Rich spring-like showers of spiritual blessings are often separated by seasons of spiritual dryness. And like the natural seasons, we have no say in their beginning or duration. The Prophet reveals a plan to find personal refreshing while we wait for the season to change. His call is to “press on” in our quest toward a fuller head and heart knowledge of the Lord Jesus. In other words, we have a choice.
Press on! Refuse to just “wait it out”.
Press on! Refuse to be deterred by the dryness that makes you feel like you are running on sand.
Keep on giving the Lord His place of priority in your thoughts, your time, your activities, and your finances. Hosea tells us that “He [the Lord] will respond to us”. With the same certainty that one season will follow another, so the Lord’s response will follow our pressing on. It may not be raining around you, but the Lord will rain on you!
It’s raining!
Here in Florida, during spring, it usually rains a lot. This spring, however, has been different. The daily rains ceased several weeks ago and it has been bone dry. And that dryness has provided the ideal environment for the many destructive fires that have sprung up in communities around us. At the very least, all of us have had to reduce water consumption and watch as our lawns have turned brown.
Right now, it’s raining. The sound of the rain on my roof is like music. Let it rain!
The ancient Prophet Hosea experienced what we’ve been feeling. The dryness in which he lived was way past unpleasant and annoying; it had become life-threatening. The weeks had begun to run together in a monotonous succession of hot, cloudless days and nights. But like us, Hosea awaited the joy and the refreshing that eventually comes with a change of season and much needed rain.
We don’t know the appointed days that God has instructed the clouds to gather together and release their bounty. But we do know that the rains will come. Just as surely as dawn follows the dark, so the rains are sure to arrive. And so we wait. What other choice do we have?
Our spiritual lives have their seasons as well. Rich spring-like showers of spiritual blessings are often separated by seasons of spiritual dryness. And like the natural seasons, we have no say in their beginning or duration. The Prophet reveals a plan to find personal refreshing while we wait for the season to change. His call is to “press on” in our quest toward a fuller head and heart knowledge of the Lord Jesus. In other words, we have a choice.
Press on! Refuse to just “wait it out”.
Press on! Refuse to be deterred by the dryness that makes you feel like you are running on sand.
Keep on giving the Lord His place of priority in your thoughts, your time, your activities, and your finances. Hosea tells us that “He [the Lord] will respond to us”. With the same certainty that one season will follow another, so the Lord’s response will follow our pressing on. It may not be raining around you, but the Lord will rain on you!
It’s raining!
And my lawn is starting to look green again.
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