Thursday, June 21

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Hosea 2:14
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.

Do you have a favorite place?

As you look back over your life, is there a particular place – or places – that are filled with memories of warmth, joy or intimacy?

If you are married, one of those places might be the hole-in-the-wall restaurant where you first felt the fire of romance kindled in your heart.

It might be the place where you first said the words, “I love you.”

Or the place where you managed to utter the phrase, “Will you marry me?”

Or the place – perhaps a first home or apartment - where, through the fog of “early parental exhaustion” said to your partner, “Your turn to get up with the baby.”

Most of us have such special places anchored in our memories. Such a place for me was the restaurant where my wife and I had our first date. I don’t remember what I ordered from the menu, or much about the conversation over dinner that night, but I do remember the feeling that came over me when our elbows touched while standing next to each other at the salad bar!

Notice the special place to which Hosea leads his unfaithful wife:

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.

The desert! What kind of special place is that?

We think of the desert as a place of extreme heat and barrenness; a place of loneliness and isolation; we think of the desert as a place to avoid. But the desert was actually a good place in the history of Israel. When God led his people out of captivity in Egypt and toward the promised land, he took them through the desert first. The desert was where he gave them his law. The desert was where he gave them his presence through the cloud of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night. The desert was where he gave them manna each day and taught them to depend completely on his provision.

The desert was the place where the covenant was sealed and where Israel experienced communion and intimacy with God.

Is there such a “desert place” in your life? Maybe your “desert” is a literal place; a favorite chair in your house where you meet with him in prayer every morning; or perhaps a walking path by the Fox River where you find he walks with you. Or maybe your “desert place” is a time in your life when circumstances of loneliness or pain led you into a deeper experience of God’s love and strength.

Whatever it is, we all need such a “desert place” in our lives for that is the place of intimacy and communion with God. Ask him to lead you to that place frequently and to meet you there.

Pastor Brian Coffey