Broken in the Desert

“I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.” Hosea 2:14

The Book of Hosea in the Old Testament is a very strange story which parallels God’s love for His unfaithful chosen people who sought after false gods. The prophet Hosea married a prostitute, who deserted him and ran after other men. Hosea had to buy her back for fifteen pieces of silver, five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. 

Even though Gomer, Hosea’s wife was unfaithful, Hosea was faithful. So too is our God with us. He continues to woo us, to try to win us back, to allure us. But why bring us to the desert? The desert is a place of barrenness, of brokenness. Sometimes it is only in our brokenness that we are silent and we seek after God. Perhaps when we undergo a hardship, a challenge, painful experiences, we ask, “Why me? Why now?” 

If there ever was one to ask, “Why me?”, it would be Saint Paul who was obedient to God, and gave all his time and effort to tell people to good news. But oh what he suffered! He was beaten, stoned, whipped, shackled, shipwrecked, abandoned...and the list goes on. And yet, Saint Paul wrote to the Romans, “We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know they are good for us- they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation...We know how dearly God loves us...”

There is nothing God wants more than our salvation, that He brings us back into His fold. When He leads us into the desert, we can be sure He is right there beside us.