Hosea 2:7
“And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.”
A sad but tragic reminder is found in the verse above. A woman who married a man and had children with him one day thought she was not happy with him, so she left him for other men whom she thought would make her happy. These other men showered her with money and possessions just to get from her what they wanted. As long as she was being showered with these material and worldly possessions she was happy.
What this woman did not realize was that one day those men whom she called her lovers would forsake her. As the verse above says, she would seek for them but would not find them. Her only option was to go back to the man she married, for it wasn’t until she was forsaken and the life of whoredom didn’t suffice that she realized how much better life was with her husband.
My question to this woman is, where are they now? Where are those men whom you thought were better than your husband? Where are those gifts they showered upon you? Where are their sweet words to lure you to fulfill their lustful and selfish desires? What this woman found out was that what she once thought was bad was actually better than she had realized. This woman would have had to live on the streets if her husband, who was a much better person than she, had not waited for her to return. This story reminds us of some valuable lessons we must never forget.
First, sin always looks better from the other side. Sin can only show you the flashing lights and the first nights because it cannot show you the end of where it takes you. Sin only has one side to show. You may think the Christian life is too restrictive, but wait until sin has taken its course to see how much more restrictive it will be on your life. Don’t believe the lies of sin, for sin will never show you the other side of the door.
Second, don’t take for granted what you presently have. We are prone to forget the goodness of what we have. Let me encourage you to never stop looking at the goodness of a spouse, parent, friend, church or the Christian life. If you are not careful, you will focus so much on the negatives of life that you stop seeing the goodness of what you have.
Third, you are always wanted back even when sin has robbed you of your original value. The greatest part about this story is that Hosea never stopped waiting for his wife’s return. She may not have returned in the same condition she left, but his love for her still wanted her back no matter what sin had done to her. It doesn’t matter how deep in sin you have gone, you can always come back to God. There are plenty of people who are awaiting your return and will gladly take you back. Don’t believe the lie of the Devil who tells you that nobody wants you.
Friend, don’t ever give up on those who have gone wayward. You will never know what the LORD is doing in their heart until they return. Keep praying and waiting! If you are reading this and have gone astray, let me plead with you to return. We are waiting for you.