“I don’t know how to fix it, so I guess the only thing I can do is pray about it.” Have you ever heard that statement before? Maybe you’ve even thought or said it when faced with a situation that seemed hopeless and overwhelming. Think about what that statement implies; YOU can’t fix it, so you’ll HAVE to send it to God as a second option. Wow! Why do we think that, when the best thing we can do is pray about a situation? Think about it, what can you do to fix your problems that the God of the universe cannot do? Read the verse below that David wrote….
“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies.” (Psalm 108:12-13)
What are you facing that seems overwhelming? What does that verse mean to you this morning?
The Israelites were also faced with the decision of who or what to run towards. Should they trust the God of their forefathers that called them His own? Should they trust their own power and strength or the strength of other nations? Upon first glance, it seems like an easy choice, but we’ll see today that they had a different plan in mind.
Read Hosea 8:4-7a below and think about the questions that follow:
“They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour.”
- What did the people do with their silver and gold?
- Who made the “calf-god?”
- What are they sowing? reaping? What does that mean to you?
Israel had turned to other nations for help and had trusted in their own self-sufficiency to get them through. Out of fear and desperation they had made other gods for the people to worship; then they put their faith and trust in these “gods.” Does that seem a little off to you? That would be the equivalent of you making something from your own hands, praying to it, and trusting it to provide. Sounds crazy right?! What if however, we replace the idea of trusting a “thing” with trusting a person or yourself? Then the statement would read: they put their faith in other people, worshiped them, and trusted them to provide. Does that ever reflect your life?
God desires so much for us to seek Him first! Matthew 6:33 tells us to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness;” when we do this, everything else we truly need will be provided for. He is such a great God and cares about the big things, as well as the tiniest details in our life. You can trust Him!! If we learn anything from the book of Hosea, let it be known that God is a faithful and redeeming God, despite our shortcomings.
Read Hosea 8:7 one more time, this time from the NLT translation:
“They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind.”
The word wind can be translated as something vain or empty. You see, the Israelites had planted vanity and reaped the storm. They placed their trust and hope in things that could not hear, see, or save them. They sowed emptiness and harvested nothing but confusion. Galatians 6:8 puts it this way:
“Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
My prayer is that we become women that sow to please the Spirit. That we trust God first and above all else, planting good seed, and reaping a harvest of righteousness.