Call Me Out

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and
speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make
the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her
youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. ‘In that day,’ declares the
LORD,’you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.
(Hosea 2:14-16)

I am constantly amazed at how God hammers things home for me. I've been struggling through the relational baggage I've been trying to put down for good and realizing more and more that I put expiration dates on my relationships. But that's another post in and of itself.
I'm also doing a one on one bible study type thing with Claire
We read through Ruth, which I still want to write about, so many things to write about so little time! Then we read through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. Both of those have touched on God's amazing love and desire for us. In the letters from John it talks about God in the beginning and it really reminded me the way God is who He is and always has been from the beginning, now and He will be the same all the way until the end. It's just amazing.

Next up is a read through Hosea. I got stuck in chapter 2, specifically the above verses. It reminded me of the song by Shane & Shane, especially the first few verses.

He will allure her
He will pursue her
And call her out
To wilderness with flowers in His hand
She is responding
Beat up and hurting
Deserving death
But offerings of life are found instead

Because as confused and ambivalent I am about being married or even in a dating relationship I still want to feel pursued. I can see past the baggage as I'm dragging around just long enough to realize that.

I'm working to realize that separate from the confusion and chaos of wondering if I want to date or get married or even think about those things that God is pursuing me and He's not leaving. Where I expect death, abandonment, rejection and betrayal I find life, a warm embrace, inclusion and faithfulness.
It's hard to wrap my head around it, this offering of life.
But I'm responding, trying to trust that God is who He has always been from the beginning.