In Pursuit of Things

Scripture Read: Hosea  [2:1] Say to your brothers, "Ammi," and to your sisters, "Ruhamah."  [2] "Contend with your mother, contend, For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband;  And let her put away her harlotry from her face, And her adultery from between her breasts,  [3] Lest I strip her naked And expose her as on the day when she was born. I will also make her like a wilderness, Make her like desert land,  And slay her with thirst.   [4] "Also, I will have no compassion on her children, Because they are children of harlotry.  [5] "For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.'  [6] "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.  [7] "And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them.  Then she will say, 'I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!'

Application: How deceitful the want of things is. We are deceived about their importance and the source that provides them. We make ourselves believe we need all of them – some we do – food, water etc, but not all. So then a desire has been labeled a need and we will drive for it no matter what the truth is. We also make ourselves believe these things can be attained outside of God. A job, a person, or a government will give us these things. Later in life, after much pursuit and wasted time we will come to the realization of the truth – but by then it will be to late. We will have lost the greater part of our life in pursuit of things that don’t really matter. God help me to stay balanced. Seeing needs as needs and desires as desires. Realizing that all of it comes from you – no matter what the surface provider might be. Some times I do look to other things as my source of pleasure or esteem or purpose. Help me remember Lord, that although you use many other things to meet my needs and make me feel fulfilled – in the end – it all flows from you!