Possible Reasons for Troubles
Although our troubles are not always the result of sin, sometimes they are. Through Hosea the prophet, God said to the Israelites, “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall” (Hos 14:1).
Solution
Here is the solution to the times when our troubles are the result of sin, follow God’s recommendation of, “Take words with you and return to the Lord” (V 2a), and follow His prescribed script: “Say to Him, ‘Forgive our sins and receive us graciously that we may offer the fruits of our lips…for in you the fatherless find compassion’” (Hos 14:2b-3).
Result
The result of genuine, detailed confession is: forgiveness and restoration as God promised: “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots ... and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon” (V 4-7).
Let us do exactly as He prescribed; let us follow the script, and we will be restored. He is so eager to bless us; let us be just as eager to be blessed.
Although our troubles are not always the result of sin, sometimes they are. Through Hosea the prophet, God said to the Israelites, “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall” (Hos 14:1).
Solution
Here is the solution to the times when our troubles are the result of sin, follow God’s recommendation of, “Take words with you and return to the Lord” (V 2a), and follow His prescribed script: “Say to Him, ‘Forgive our sins and receive us graciously that we may offer the fruits of our lips…for in you the fatherless find compassion’” (Hos 14:2b-3).
Result
The result of genuine, detailed confession is: forgiveness and restoration as God promised: “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots ... and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon” (V 4-7).
Let us do exactly as He prescribed; let us follow the script, and we will be restored. He is so eager to bless us; let us be just as eager to be blessed.