Learning How to Walk Again

Text: Hosea 14 Theme: Walking in God’s ways keeps us from stumbling. Key verses: “Return, O Israel, your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. (v. 1-2) We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion. I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.” (v. 3b-4) “Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right. The righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” (v. 9) What God said to me: Dwayne, this is my plan for my people: to bring them to full maturity, to present them faultless before my presence with exceeding joy, to conform them into the image of my dear Son. I have made the formula very simple to understand: You sin, you fall. You obey me, you walk upright and whole. It’s truly that simple. No further analysis is necessary, and no self-help theories and counselors can substitute. Come to me with humble words from your broken hearts. Confess you sins. Let your ultimate aim be to praise me with your lips and with your life. Turn away from your self-contrived gods. Wise up. Pray for discernment to fully grasp this simple but profound truth: My ways are the only ways that are right, and nobody finds another way and then lives to tell about it. What I said to God: El Elyon, I confess that my sins have been my downfall in the past. We fall under the weight of Your majesty and perfection. Great Jehovah, we appeal to Your mercy and love and Your obvious desire to lift us up out of our sin and help us walk again in joy and holiness. I’ve been on the stumbling side before. I’ve acted like a drunk man, inebriated by my own rebellion, selfishness and pride. Thank you, El Shaddai, for making Yourself known to me and my family and for teaching us how to walk in faith and righteousness. And even if we do fall, we won’t utterly be cast down, for Your right hand upholds us! Hallelujah! Please keep ordering our steps and directing our path.