Daily Devotional for Thursday, July 9

God Wants Us to Seek Him

“I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early,” Hosea 5:15.
God desires a beautiful relationship with His people filled with love, honesty and sincerity. In Isaiah 1:18, He tells His people, “Come now, and let us reason together.” The Creator of the universe gave an invitation to His people to engage with Him in a meaningful, personal way. What a loving Father He is! But when hidden sins get bottled inside, it quickly wreaks havoc on our lives. It impacts us greatly, not only spiritually and mentally, but also physically. David spoke about unconfessed sin in Psalm 32:3, 4, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.”
The Lord was extremely patient with Israel, giving them space to repent time and again. He sent the prophets, warning and pleading with them to return to Him or judgment would come. Yet, they hardened their hearts and refused to seek the Lord, their God.
We are no different from Israel. When we choose to ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the harder our hearts become and the further we get from the Lord. God will allow sin to take its course and lead to destruction in order that we would seek Him once again. Do not wait for that to happen! Listen to David’s words in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” If you are struggling with sin, seek the Lord and be honest with Him. He will forgive and bring healing to your life.

REFLECTION
Do you have areas you are hiding from God? Lay them at the cross today.

Darla Goodrum