Last night I peeked at today’s devotional verse to give me something to think about this morning. I had to be up and leave the house too early for my usual routine. The verse seemed appropriate for what I was about to experience.
Hosea 2:14 says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.”
In the Bible, wilderness can be about escaping from enemies, or it can be about God taking me somewhere where I am alone so He can speak to my heart. In my case, perhaps my wilderness was going to be in that dental surgeon’s chair and I certainly wanted God to speak comfort to me; however, such an interpretation would take the verse entirely out of context.
Hosea is a prophet from God who is speaking to a rebellious nation. He tells them the words of God and God’s intentions toward them. For these rebels, the wilderness was a place where He could get their attention and correct their behavior.
As scary as that sounds, for them and for me, this verse does say something about God. Even in correcting His people, God speaks comfort. He also speaks to the heart.
The author of my devotional says, “Men may speak to the ear, and they can do no more, but God speaks to the heart, for it is there that His voice alone is heard.”
He goes on to explain that all religion first and last lies in the human heart. I could have my head filled with good, even godly ideas, but my heart could be destitute of grace. Yet because I am a vessel of God’s Mercy, I have “believed with the heart unto righteousness” and I can hear the voice of God speaking to my heart. What a wonderful gift!
The devotional author adds that it is in the wilderness where I can learn the deep necessity that God should speak to my heart. In ordinary life, busyness and distractions, even serving the Lord, can keep me from hearing Him speak even though I want Him to talk to me and speak those words that reach my heart. I know that if He takes me away from those distractions to a place where there is no friend, no help, no worldly comfort, then I am more apt to hear Him.
When a Christian is separated from the world by trials and afflictions or experiencing an onslaught of temptations, God is at work showing us that nothing but His voice speaking with power will give any solid ground for rest or peace. It may be painful, but it is profitable because such experiences teach us to look to the Lord and the Lord alone.
This morning I felt as if He carried me through my surgery. I had a bridge removed, a tooth pulled, a massive infection cleaned from under it, extensive bone grafts, and two implants inserted into my jaw, all in about an hour. The freezing is just starting to come out.
Will the pain that I feel coming be a wilderness experience? Maybe. But even if it is, I am counting on God. If He takes me into the wilderness, He will also bring me out, yet while I am there, He promises to speak comfort to me.
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