And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, (Hosea 2:15)

Turning the Valley of Achor into a door of hope is no small feat. Historically the valley of Achor has been viewed as a place of judgment and destruction. How can a place of judgment and destruction become a place of hope? Only at the cross where Christ was troubled as our sin became His so He could be judged for us so that we can be heirs of hope.
The door of hope I find at Calvary where Christ was walked through His own Valley of Achor is where I sing because that is where God declared Himself to no longer be my master, but my husband. By His righteousness and justice my sins were nailed to the cross. Through His mercy and lovingkindness I’ve been brought into relationship with Him. In His faithfulness I have been betrothed to Him for all eternity.
Oh believer, do life’s circumstances have you placed in a Valley of Achor? Know that Christ was troubled for your sake so that you can lie down safely and rest in Him. Let the Spirit open your eyes and realize that your Valley of Achor is a door of hope. Your troubles are meant to lead you to God for you are His bride that He cares for and has orchestrated all things for your good. Embrace His mercy as He has drawn near and ready to not only, but also answer. He has shed His blood to win you for Himself, so how can He not do all else.

So you, by the help of your God, return; (Hosea 12:6)

Typically when discouragement or overwhelming situations come we realize that we needs God’s help. If we are honest with ourselves, the proper posture of our hearts should be one that continually acknowledges its need for help from God. Our Lord is the creator of Heavens and earth. In Him is unimaginable resources with strength and power to accomplish all. If our faith is found in Him and not in ourselves then all things are possible.

Any Christian growth or desire to do good deeds cannot be done by your own strength. No one on their own does good. Pursuing godliness is not natural to our human nature. All attempts to glorify God on our own are filthy rags and even if they don’t outwardly appear to be soiled with sin, God sees the self-sufficiency was in the design and execution. To be found holy, we must clothe ourselves with the robes of righteousness He provides through finding our strength for growth only in the power of Christ blood.

He is calling you to turn from your sinful nature and live in His grace that is free and available to all that come. On your own you would be dead, but only by His calling you are you brought to life. Surrender completely and know that you don’t hear Him by your own ability and you don’t live by your own strength. He is sufficient for all that you desire to do for His name. Only by His undeserved favor are you His and only by His undeserved favor are you able to accomplish anything for Him.

My Sympathy is Stirred

If you are more aware of your sin then God’s love for you, then direct your attention to the cross. Kneel before the cross and realize that the death of His Son was for you. The only begotten Son of the most high king gave up His life for you to be adopted into the family of God. Nothing can break these family ties for you have been wrapped with His bands of love. At calvary, the most heinously conceivable sin was displayed for all to see that even when sin abounds to its highest level that grace is still triumphant. All of your sins were placed on the son at the cross so that there is no fear or dread of any punishment.

At the moment that you notice condemnation lurking around the corner, remember that our God is not like man. He is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin, because of His great love for you He has washed you clean of the sin that stains you. His grace has abounded greater then any past, present or future sin. Your coming before Him is not on the basis of your works, but what He’s done. Your holiness is not what you’ve earned, but what He’s given you. You are eternally His, He has bought you with the blood of His Son and will not give you up.

How can this be you ask? God’s heart for you is a heart that overflows with compassion. Instead of treating us as we deserve, He crushed His Son for us. The fierceness of His anger was the burden that Christ faced so that we can experience God’s love poured out into our hearts. Due to our sin, we should have been destroyed by God’s holy wrath, but the righteous One who knew no sin, took on our sin and died in our place so that we can be considered righteous. At the cross God’s sympathy is displayed and we find no greater display of love.

I Will Love Them Freely (Hosea 14:4)

Here we find the heart of the Gospel. God’s love can never be earned, it must be freely given. Any attempt to earn God’s love will only merit cheap grace. Grace finds it richness in the fact that it can never be merited. God counts us righteous not on the basis of what we have done, but because His Son is our righteous representative. We are seen as holy not because we are holy, but because He is holy. All the blessings and benefits we receive are based on what was accomplished on Calvary because on our own we are only deserving of punishment of condemnation.

We each represent Gomer. None of us have loved God as we should. The act of spiritual adultery is on everyone. There is not one who has not turned their back on God, all have given their heart to this world and all it offers. Due to our sin nature our lives originated in slavery and bondage to our flesh. God who is rich in grace and mercy sought to redeem us by sending His Son to purchase our freedom with the blood of His Son. When we were headed towards heal, God intervened and based on His good pleasure brought us into relationship with Him

Let this influence your life, although the Gospel was free to us, it came at a cost, the blood of Christ. All we have to offer is our sin and He freely gives us life and life to the full. We are allowed to partake in fellowship with Him because the punishment that was to be ours, Christ took on Himself for our sake. He was separated from the Father so that we can come in and commune with the most holy. He sacrificed Himself so that our lives can be living sacrifices.

Filled and Exalted (Hosea 13:6)

Let this never be your fate, to forget your Lord and Savior. Forget all else, before you forget what He has done for you. Forget all else and you forget nothing, forget your Lord and Savior and you have forgotten all. Daily tell yourself the gospel and the good news of what Christ did for you at the cross. Let your mind never wander from your dependence on Him and your state of hopelessness without grace. Remember you are completely reliant on His mercy because that never flatters you, but only points to your need for Him.

Before the foundation of the world God had his heart set on you and choose you to be a vessel of love, therefore do not forget Him. When you were in your mother’s womb, before any knew you or saw you, God had his eyes on you and never took them off of you, so keep your eyes on Him. In the darkest moments of your life, when you ran from Him and were faithless, He remained faithful to you and won you for Himself, therefore do not forget Him.

Those that are truly humble will boast in nothing else except for Christ and Him crucified. A humble man knows that his heart has no reason to be exalted, so he spends all His time exalting God. Only in exalting God can we be exalted. With the proper perspective we see that nothing in this world has any great value, but any blessings we receive should point us back to the giver of all good gifts. Everything in this world is loss except for knowing the exceeding greatness of what God has done to redeem sinful man to Himself.