A Door of Hope

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt."

Hosea 2:14-15


The word that caught my eye in Hosea 2 is found in verse 14, the word, “allure". God speaks of alluring His bride Israel back to Himself and restoring her and redeeming her after she had turned away from Him and chased after other lovers (gods). God says He "will allure her, that He will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her." God is saying He will allure a people who are not seeking Him but with whom He Himself is seeking. He will find her and allure her. I love that word and the imagery it creates in my mind as to the lengths God will go to redeem the one He loves.

Charles Spurgeon wrote regarding, "I will allure her": “This is a singular kind of power: ‘I will allure her;’ not, ‘I will drive her’ not even, ‘I will draw her,’ or, ‘I will drag her;’ or, ‘I will force her.’ No, ‘I will allure her.’ It is a very remarkable word, and it teaches us that the allurement of love surpasses in power all other forces. That is how the devil ruins us; he tempts us with honeyed words, sweet utterances, with the baits of pleasure and the like; and the Lord in mercy determines that, in all truthfulness, he will outbid the devil, and he will win us to himself by fascinations, enticements, and allurements which shall be stronger than any force of resistance we may offer. This is a wonderfully precious word: ‘I will allure her.’”

In verse 15 God says He will transform the Valley of Achor (Achor means "trouble") into a door of hope. What that is saying is God has the ability to take every situation we are in, every circumstance of our lives and transform it into a door of hope. The apostle Paul would write, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to His purposes.” Paul didn’t say that all things “were good” but rather that all things work together for good.

Jesus told us in this life we are going to experience hard things, tough days, life at times that will be discouraging and disheartening to us but to not be dismayed because we are not without hope. In every Valley of Trouble we walk through in this life we have a promise from God, that He Himself will be there in those desolate places right along side us leading us to the door of hope. And from reading our bibles we come to know Jesus is that door, Jesus is our hope!

Look for the door of hope today, loved one, and when you find it, enter through it. If it appears to be shut, then just knock believing in faith that God will open the door for you! No matter what, keep looking unto Jesus, keep trusting Him and you will in the end not be disappointed.


 
“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

John 10:9


I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

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