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From There...

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As I was writing yesterday's post, the story of God showing Hagar the well in the wilderness, another passage familiar to me came to mind. It's found in Hosea. God is chasing Israel and having the prophet act it out in real life. (That's a loose translation of what's going on here.)

In verses 14 and 15 of chapter two, God says, 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....

 I love this passage as God is wooing Israel and bringing her to Himself. Note that He brings her to the wilderness, the same place He found Hagar. First, He speaks comfort to her. We all need that, don't we? Especially in our uncertain days with the Coronavirus and all the craziness surrounding it, we need His comfort and peace. Here, He offers it. He does not withhold comfort - He speaks it into her. I trust He does the same thing for us.

The second thing about this passage is God's provision. He says He will give her her vineyards from the wilderness. It says, "from there" so I assume the "there" is the wilderness He brought her to. God was good about bringing and meeting people in the wilderness to talk with them. He brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt unto Himself - He took Ezekiel to the wilderness to talk with him, He met Moses on the backside of the wilderness to call him. Note to self: God did not take her out of the wilderness to provide for her - He gave her her vineyards from there. I love that - He can provide for us in the wilderness of life - period. He doesn't have to wait for the climate to change, He doesn't wait until the stock market recovers - or until we have all of our proverbial ducks in a row. He doesn't wait until we get out of the wilderness. He provides for us right smack dab in the midst of the mess.

Remember that Isaac went to Gerar and famine was in the land. But in the midst of the famine, it says that Isaac sowed in that land (the one suffering a famine) and received in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him.... and we could add from there.

 I don't know about you - but I find it very comforting that God can touch us right where we are and bless us from there. Don't you?

Today, I will thank Him from my "from there." I'll be grateful that He can see me where I am and doesn't exclude caregivers from any of His promises or provisions due to our situations. I'll take comfort knowing He sees us right where we are and reaches to us right where we are. My meditations will be on His power to see us - and His heart toward us even in the ugly. And I will trust Him for just one more day as I trust Him for provision from here. Will you join me?
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