“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3
What is healing without the tear? What is comfort without sorrow? What is resurrection without death? What rich promises the Lord gives for those distant by brokenness and pain! Only the fainting can be revived, only the separated brought near, only the stricken restored.
So often we rue the calamities of life. It is true they present painful agonies that we abhor, and cause dissension we would not choose. Yet in God’s mysterious economy, we would never know the power of God without experiencing helplessness, or His provision without knowing lack. Would we understand His grace without the sting of sinning, or the mercies of the freedom without having been captive?
We shrink from the crucifixion Christ endured on our behalf, despising that we really are all that bad that such horror was required as penalty. We shirk the crucifixion He demands of us if we are to live out the new, exchanged life He gives. But only through divine tearing that opens our poisoned hearts, through true death to self, can we experience abundant, joy-filled life in Him. (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-10)
Do we have the eternal perspective to grasp the divine exchange He’s constantly working in our lives? It takes a deliberate fixing of our thoughts and desires on things above where the seated, victorious Christ reigns with perfect precision and purpose. He wants us to share the cross and fortify our faith, never to grow complacent in ease and soft in our thinking. Crucifixion was not safe, but it was infinitely good, marking the outpouring of wrath for atonement, punishment for salvation, separation for intimacy.
Where have we been torn by hurt from others, or sin’s consequences? What circumstances have struck us down to fatigue or despair? Would we today turn to know Him more than relief? (Philippians 3:10)
“Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
for I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call you to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,
for I will be with you in trouble to bless,
and sanctify to you your deepest distress.
When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
my grace all-sufficient shall be your supply;
the flame shall not hurt you; I only design
your dross to consume and your gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!” ~John Rippon (1787)
Lord, keep me pressing on to know You in both painful renting and glorious revival, to Your praise.
As the rain and snow 