Not Without a Fight!

Daily Reading: Amos 4

Yet you did not return to me. (Amos 4.6)

Devotional Thought: Parenting is hard work.  It's not always fun.  At the age of 63, three of my best friends are my daughters.  While they were growing up, however, I often had to choose between being their friend or their father, having them like me or listen to me.  We didn't do everything right - not by a long shot! - but Lana and I decided that we were not going to let them raise themselves.  We would not let them go down wrong paths "without a fight."

God was not about to let his people go "without a fight," either.  While Israel wandered further and further away from God, he tried to get their attention through...

·       The force of hunger (v. 6)

·       The fickleness of success (vv. 7-8)

·       The failure of human endeavors (v. 9)

·       The finality of death (v. 10)

·       The facts of sinful lifestyles (v. 11)

God did everything he could to get their attention.  Sadly, though, they did not return to him.

Parenting is hard work for God, too.  Seeing them suffer was not fun.  It broke his heart for his children to make choices that brought hunger and disease, loss and despair.  His love compelled him to make hard choices, just as any parent must do.

Perhaps you have wandered from God and are in a season of want or failure.  Be assured, that God is calling you to return to him.  He is waiting with an open heart for his child to come home.  He will not give up without a fight!

Prayer: "Just as I am, without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bid'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come.  I come."  Amen.  (Charlotte Elliot)

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 100.1-5

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.