Holy Spirit, I am seeking you today. Speak to me of your great love.

I loved you long before you knew my Name or my character. I fashioned you to be the person you are today. I made you and desired that you would love me in return, but I gave you the choice. Love is only love when given freely without coercion. I loved you while you were still in your sin. I was hoping that one day you would see the emptiness in your soul that could only be filled with me. That’s my hope, my strong desire for all mankind; to love and fill the void inside of them. Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life, no man can come to the Father except he goes through the Son, Jesus Christ.

There is a story in the gospel of Luke that tells the story of a Father with two sons. The younger one asked his Father to give him his share of the estate. The Father divided his estate between the brothers. Not long after the younger son left home for a far distant land, he squandered his inheritance on wild living. There was a famine in that part of the country and he fell on very hard times. He found work tending pigs for a citizen of that country. He was starving and desired even to fill his stomach with the pig’s food.

The word of God says that he came to his senses, and said to himself, “My father’s hired men have more than enough to eat. I will go back to my father and repent saying, “I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be your son, make me one of your hired men.” So, he got up and went to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son repented to his father just as he said he would do. The father quickly called the servants to bring the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. He said, “Let’s have a feast and celebrate! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost but now is found!” So, they began to celebrate!

What a beautiful picture of our Father’s unconditional love for his children. In the parable the son chose to leave the family and go out into the world. The father allowed him to go, even though it grieved his heart. The father would not force the son to stay for that would not have been love. Love does not demand its way, even though it may be the right way. Repentance is turning from sin and turning to the One who has the power to forgive. The father was ready, waiting, and able to receive back the repentant son. The father restored the son back to his original position. The enemy of our souls would keep us in the pigpen eating slop; but our Father says, “You are a son.” and honors us with an embrace, a kiss, a royal robe, a ring, and a celebratory feast!

Hosea 2: 14-16
Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

This is one of my favorite scriptures and one of my most favorite books of the Bible. It is about an unfaithful Israel who prostituted herself with other nations; and a very faithful God who is betrothed to her. God loves and woos Israel back to himself. The allegory is concerning the Prophet Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer. Some believe this is factual and that God actually spoke to Hosea to marry Gomer who was a prostitute, others believe it is strictly allegorical; nevertheless it is filled with so much hope for us! We can insert ourselves in the place of Israel and or Gomer in this story. We have all from time to time run after other gods, and have committed spiritual adultery with the things of the world. God does not give up on us; he continues to draw us back to himself through his unconditional love and mercy. He quickly forgives as we come with truly repentant hearts. He longs to show us compassion. He leads us to a place where we hunger and thirst for him; where nothing else can fill the emptiness.

A desert place is where we come to the end of ourselves; our self sufficiency falling miserably short. Then our Father speaks tenderly to us; we listen now because we are at a place of humility. We are holding fast to every word spoken. Our damaged souls are raw from harsh words spoken, people using us and tossing us aside. This is where our Father applies ointment to our wounds and says to us as He did many thousands of years ago to Israel and Gomer, “I will give you back your vineyards.” He restores back to us what is rightfully ours and that my friends is sonship. The enemy of our souls has torn at us and tried to destroy our identities. He wants to strip us of all honor and dignity. God says, “Enough! No more!”

The Valley of Achor means the Valley of trouble. How many of us can say, “Yes, I have seen some trouble in my life!” I surely can say that! Some of the trouble has come to me by my own volition. I have chosen to walk away from the precepts of God and walk into sin. Other times it has come my way by no choice of my own. I have an enemy called the devil who would love to see me destroyed. The very least he wants to steal from me my peace, my joy, my sanity, and my reputation. He ultimately wants me dead to God, to lose my passion for the Kingdom of God, and then physically kill me.

I will make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a door of hope!

God himself will do this for the child of God. He loves us more than we can ever imagine. He is the Restorer of your soul; your mind, your will, and your emotions. He is the One who speaks tenderly to you of your amazing future!

Isaiah 42:3
A bruised reed he will not break a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

He is a gentle and loving Father who knows each of us intimately. He has a tailor made plan for each of our futures.

Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Many in the Body of Christ suffer with depression because of disappointments over and again. Many times it is of our own making, because we put unattainable goals on ourselves. These are goals that God has not and will not ever yoke us with. Disappointments often lead to feelings of hopelessness and giving up. We give up on God as we say to ourselves, “What’s the use in trying anymore?” This kind of negative self talk leads to depression or oppression. We must take negative self talk captive and make it obedient to what Christ says about us. His desire for us is the latter part to that verse.

A longing fulfilled is a tree of life!

Our Father does put godly passions inside of us, those desires we all have to do great things in our lives. The aspiration to do great things in His Kingdom and in your life is an obtainable goal. Those dreams in your heart that only you and God know about are good. When they come to pass, it brings life to your spirit man, to your soul and to your body! When we walk out our God given destinies we are full of life and the people around us take notice.

What will be the fruit of our lives yielded completely to our Father? We will sing as in the days of our youth. Joy will fill us to overflowing as in the early days of our salvation. Do you remember how sweet those early days were after coming into Christ? I remember feeling so peaceful and contented. My life had great hope because of Jesus living inside of me by the Holy Spirit. We will have renewed passion for God and His Kingdom as we walk with a repentant and humble heart.

The last sentence within this scripture says, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. This also speaks of the day of your salvation. Egypt represents “the old man” or “the sin nature.”

Coming up out of Egypt speaks of the day we said yes to our God and came out of our sin. This is a continual process of yielding to our Father. Our salvation is guaranteed through the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. We are not working in any way for it. We must however keep ourselves from spiritual adultery, flirting with the world and its systems can be very dangerous. This can strip you of your energy, your joy, your peace and can ultimately cause you to lose all your passion for life and for Jesus!