It Was I

"They did not realize it was I..."

This phrase (Hosea 11:3b) pulled me back for a closer look.
In the midst of reprimanding His people, God breaks into tender reminiscing, and Hosea describes the LORD's heart broken by the children He loved.

God had taught them to walk. Allowed their young fingers to curl around His pinky for support. Threw them up in the air and played hide and seek with them, all the while never leaving. God stood up to their bullies, provided bread when they thought they'd die, and healed them from diseases.

A father throws his giggling child up in the air. He knows his strength and grins at his child's willingness to trust. A mother gently leads her toddler, picking her up when she falls and kissing her bruises.

As the child grows, independence and self-sufficiency surge. She copies her neighbors' ways and ignores her parent's calls. 

Preoccupied with herself, Israel also forgot God's tenderness. She overlooked the ties of love that connected her to her Lord. God had stooped down to feed them and remove their yoke of slavery. But those were now faint memories. They were striking out on their own. 

"They did not realize it was I who healed them."

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Oh God, please remind me that you didn't make me to live without Your love. I want to always realize Your loving interventions in my life.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Read Hosea 11.

Listen for God's voice calling you. What is He saying?

Are there life situations in which you've forgotten the Lord's loving presence?

Where has God been patient, healed you, fed and guided you?

Thankfully recount God's interventions. Don't give your heavenly Father an opportunity to say "They did not realize it was I..."