Turning to the Lord (In Times of Difficulty)

In Hosea 7.14, this morning, where Israel is in difficulty, both from lack of the basic sustenance of life—grain and wine—and from a political situation where they are threatened by bigger and stronger nations around them. What they do not see, nor understand, is that God has brought the difficulty upon them to make them turn to him, to teach them to trust in him alone. They do just the opposite; they do not cry to the Lord from the heart. Instead we have the spectacle of Israel crying out for grain and wine, but not for the Lord.

Difficulty is designed to make us cry out to the Lord, to renew our dependence upon him; to reestablish our trust and faith in him. We must be very careful that we do not follow the pattern of unfaithful Israel and get our eyes on what we need, rather than from whom we need them. We depend upon the Lord, not on what our eyes see.