Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Trust

“But I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
You shall acknowledge no God but me,
no Savior except me.
I cared for you in the desert,
in the land of burning heat.
HOSEA 13:4-5 (NIV)

Jan and I have journeyed and experienced many wonderful mountaintops in our lifetime. And we have journeyed through the desolate deserts of life. But it is has been on the journeys through the deserts that we have learned to truly trust God to guide us through – to quench our parched throats along the way. That is why we are able to trust God in the midst of our present desert – our present crisis – the Covid-19 virus.

<br So often God in His Word brings us back to the desert. The desert is part of the landscape of faith and every bit as essential as the mountaintop. On the mountaintop we are overwhelmed by God’s presence. In the desert we are overwhelmed by His absence. Both places should bring us to our knees; the one, in utter awe; the other, in utter dependence.

You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
ISAIAH 26:3 (NIV)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Trust

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Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore,
which cannot be measured or counted.
In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
The people of Judah and the people of Israel
will be reunited,
and they will appoint one leader
and will come up out of the land,
for great will be the day of Jezreel.
HOSEA 1:10-11 (NIV)

I know I’m a man with a great many faults; I know I’ve sinned. I suppose that’s one reason why I have tended at times to doubt whether God really loves me. No, that’s not exactly right. I’ve always believed He could love me; I’ve just doubted whether he did.

It’s one thing to accept truth intellectually; it’s quite another to get it into your heart. I know that God is God, and that He is who He says He is. I know what He’s done for us through the death of His Son on the cross. But I’ve struggled to connect with this affection that God insists He has for me, to understand His unconditional love, and to respond back in love.

It helps me to read portions of Scripture like this (Hosea 1:10-11), where God proclaims His love for Israel despite the nation’s sin. It helps to remember that He loves me too, despite my sin. And He loves you despite yours. He loves us even on our worst days.

But God showed His great love for us
by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners.
ROMANS 5:8 (NLT)

Then Christ will make His home
in your hearts as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love
and keep you strong.
and may you have the power to understand,
as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high,
and how deep His love is.
EPHESIANS 3:17-18 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky