HOSEA 6:1-3 – 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.”

There is a lot happening in today’s scripture. A lot.

First, the activity of God. It begins with pain and ends with blessings. In His painful chastening of His people, He has torn and struck them down. And remember, these are “acts of love.” When God’s people rebel and walk away, He comes with “severe mercy” to bring them back to Himself. So, there is the “bad” activity of God which leads to another work of Him toward His people–revival. His people will know His refreshing presence again. He promises to bind their wounds, raise them up and shower rich abundant blessings upon them. This is always God’s pattern in dealing with His children. They disobey. He disciplines. They return in confession and repentance. He restores and revives.

Now, we see the activity of God’s people. After God’s chastening hand, His people have renewed vigor to pursue Him, to know Him, and to do so with zeal. The language “let us press on to know the Lord” is that of diligence with an attitude of “I won’t be denied.” What we are witnessing is not only God’s dealing with His people and their response, but the revelation of what the Christian life is all about–a zealous pursuit, a “pressing on to know the Lord.”

Jesus unfolds these wonderful defining words of the Christian life in His High Priestly prayer, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent’”(John 17:1-3). The Christian life is “knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom God sent.” This echoes the passion and pursuit of the Apostle Paul revealed in his letter to the Philippians – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10).

However, and this is a big however, in the pursuit of pressing on to know the Lord, this will only be sustained and deepened by knowing the worth of Him we are pursuing. Without a spiritual awareness of the beauty and privilege of knowing the Lord, there will be no pressing on to know Him. As we recognize this was the Apostle Paul’s passion and pursuit, we need to back up in the Philippian letter to see what drove his passion and pursuit. It was the worth of Christ-But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). Is it so with us? Why do we pray? Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we go to church? The chief answer to each of those questions is to know God. May He enable us to press on to do just that!

PRAYER: “Father, help me to seek You with a diligent heart, a whole heart, and a sincere heart.”
QUOTE: “God will respond to those who want to know Him and prove it by our zealous pursuit.”

Because of Him,
Pastor Jim