It Was Me All Along

Hosea 11:3

“…but they did not realize it was I who healed them.”

I love the relative side of history. Everyone has an angle from which they see history. Sure, the main parts, like who was president and certain dates, are what we are taught, but some parts are missed. Take Johnny Appleseed, better known as John Chapman. We all know him as a crazy man who planted apple trees, wearing a pot on his head and singing the Johnny Appleseed song. I love apples, but what you may have missed is that Mr. John Chapman pioneered some of the language we use in real estate contracts. He was not just planting apple trees so everyone could eat apples. No, he was farming the land and claiming rights to it. Not so crazy after all, kind of genius if you think about it.

As the Israelites were living their lives and continuing to fall farther and farther away from the Lord, we can look at history and see the breakup of the country. We see the good kings and the bad kings, the major prophets and minor prophets, and their rebukes, as well as their pleas to turn from wicked ways and come back to the Lord.

In verse 9 of chapter 11, the Lord says, “For I am God, and not a man, the Holy One among you.” You can read what man had done and how they continually did evil in the sight of the Lord. This is the history we all hear about, but what about the other relative viewpoints? Our verse today is shining a light on the rest of the story, if you will. It says that they did not realize it was the Lord who healed them. Yes, even though they kept doing evil, the Lord was working, healing the land and the people, and they did not even know it. I am glad the Lord clarifies that He does not act like a man in this chapter, because it is obvious what man has done.

You may be in a time in your life that feels like you and God are as far apart as the east is from the west. Hee Haw said it best,

“Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Deep, dark depression, excessive misery. If it were not for bad luck, I would have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me.”

What you may not realize is that the Lord is working, and you do not even see it. Yes, you may not even realize that the Lord is healing you, and all you can see is the gloom. Even though the Hee Haw song is a grim reminder of your life right now, that does not have to define your faith. The Bible says that He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is with you on the mountaintops and in the middle of the valley of the shadow of death. Pray that the Lord will reveal His presence to you in every circumstance. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give you eyes to see His handiwork. Even when things are bad, God is still working. You see the heartache and gloom, but God wants you to see the side He sees, the side that reveals Him working things out for good. I love this line, it reads, “give up the lead.” You have probably messed things up enough. It is time to turn it all over.

Prayer: Father, I give You complete control over my life in every situation. I pray that I realize Your work in everything in my life, and I turn it all over to You, in Jesus’ name, amen.