~This devotional is taken from my book, Visions of Celestial Love. To learn more about it, visit my Purchasable Goodies page.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her [Israel] and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart. There I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor [troubling] to be for her a door of hope and expectation. And she shall sing there and respond as in the days of her youth and as at the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt. —Hosea 2:14–15 AMPC
This is sheer poetry to my soul. God speaks volumes to His beloved in these verses. The church is His beloved, both individually and collectively. This morning I dropped my brother off to school and was aware of a familiar pain. I spent time alone in my mom’s van talking to God about it. I was honest and open with Him.
When I walked in the house these were the verses that I turned to. Through them He pointed things out to me. He said, “I want to give you hope again. I don’t want you to give in to cynicism because of disappointments and supposedly deferred dreams.”
God said He would make my troubling a door of hope for me, and not just a door of hope but a door of expectation.
God reminded me through scripture that He is a good lover, because a good lover is the caretaker of His beloved’s heart. He said, “I will speak tenderly and to her heart.”
As my eyes scrolled down the pages He spoke more:
And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that you will call Me Ishi [my Husband], and you shall no more call Me Baali [my Baal]…. And I will break the bow and the sword and [abolish battle equipment and] conflict out of the land and will make you lie down safely. —Hosea 2:16, 18b AMPC
Through these verses the Lord said, “You will know Me personally. You will be close to Me, for I will cause your heart through intimacy to call Me Husband.”
He also said, “I will break the bow in your soul, I will abolish the inner turmoil you feel and cause you to rest in my serene peace.”
Prompted through reflections of His loving words I continued reading:
And I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will even betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know (recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate, give heed to, and cherish) the Lord. —Hosea 2:19–20 AMPC
Here God spoke, “My mercy, and My love for you is steadfast. It does not die, it does not deplete. It isn’t diminished by you, nor however you think you’ve disappointed Me. My love is timeless and nothing you do or don’t do can affect the steadfastness of it.
“You are rightly Mine through royal, and holy blood. Blood that is other, not of this world. Blood that is spirit and life paid for you to live in paradise and be wooed by My love. You are betrothed to Me in righteousness and justice. It is right and just that you are Mine…and I am yours as far as My love is concerned.
“I will even marry you in stability and faithfulness. Do you know what that means? That means you don’t have to worry about chaos. Our marriage is stable as far as the Heavens are everlasting and immovable. You have peace. We have peace. Our relationship is marked by My peace…and you will remain in this peace for as long as you know that My love cannot be moved from you. You are My heart’s gaze, and My affections are set firmly upon you. Know that even if you fail to believe sometimes, you always have My peace…you just don’t always remain in it.
“I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. I will be faithful to you through all eternity. Let My eyes wash you with My love. I look at no others. I see no others. I Am the Husband of your dreams. The Husband that marks every part of you and calls you beautiful all over. The Husband who sees you on those early mornings where your hair is disheveled, when your breath stinks, when you’re having an emotional meltdown, when you’re moody, when you’re sweaty from work, and in sweat pants. I love you in those areas that you think you are ugly. I love to love you in those areas where you feel embarrassed and would rather not be seen. I love you in those areas because those are the areas where you most need to be loved.
“I Am the Husband of your dreams. I have eyes only for you. And I will be faithful to you always. Though the world shakes, though times change, though people come and people go, though you may act unfaithfully, though you may lose sight of love, though estrangement and loneliness may come, though you may pull away sometimes, though things rage…I will be faithful to you always.
“You are the queen I’ve waited for since I created the world. And I will clothe you in royalty and crown you with honor and virtue. It is Me who makes you beautiful. You are a reflection of all My affections, and the more you receive My love for you the more you display My beauty…the beauty that was always yours to own and have.
“You are the prize I’ve worked for throughout the ages. You are the one My heart dreamed of when I hovered over the waters in the beginning. Nothing else in all of creation can compare to you, My love—not oceans, not seas, not sunrises, not sunsets, not grassy plains or rainbows in the sky, not angels, not gold or precious stones.
“If only you could see the way I stare at you. If only you could taste the love that wells up in My heart every time I see you. I want you to experience Me the way I experience you. I am here, and I am here for a lifetime. I’ll be here for eternity loving you, and I rejoice in the day that you believe it. I am faithful.”
And in that day I will respond, says the Lord; I will respond to the heavens [which ask for rain to pour on the earth], and they shall respond to the earth [which begs for the rain it needs],
And the earth shall respond to the grain and the wine and the oil [which beseech it to bring them forth], and these shall respond to Jezreel [restored Israel, who prays for a supply of them].
And I will sow her for Myself anew in the land, and I will have love, pity, and mercy for her who had not obtained love, pity, and mercy; and I will say to those who were not My people, You are My people, and they shall say, You are my God! —Hosea 2:21–23 AMPC
May God’s loving words wash you with sweet, restoring love, the way it did me this morning.
To purchase a copy of Visions of Celestial Love, click here.
“A delightful book that reflects the praises from a heart that desires to abide closely with our Heavenly Father. Written in a style that summons us to experience a journey of deeper intimacy with a loving God. Ashley covers the foundation of the Christian faith that brings encouragement and assurance of God’s promises when faced with life’s challenges. Embracing our uniqueness and the safety of transparency before our Maker who cares about the most intricate details of our life. Yes, an invitation indeed from the One and only who can fill what are heart’s ache for.” — Jocelyn Reyna,