By Alyssa Cuccia
“I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.” Hosea 14:4

In the reading in Hosea and Revelation, there is this constant willingness of God to receive back the people who turn from Him time and time again. Israel had rebelled against the Lord big time, turning to idols and forgetting their God, yet the Lord continued to be gracious to them! This steadfast love is unimaginable and yet this is the same love the God extends to His people today! Once we have been saved, we are secured in the family of God as His children and He will not let us go, despite our wanderings. May we cling to this promise today and remember that the Lord is gracious to us when we rebel against Him (as our hearts so easily wander) and He wants only that we will come to Him in humble repentance and turn from our sin so that He might cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). If there is anything hindering us from closeness with God today, may we repent of it, knowing that our loving Father welcomes us and will love us freely and gently. What a wonderful Father and friend we have in the Lord! He is our Healer!