Welcome the morning light of life with Hosea
A while ago, a sister suddenly sent me a text message: "Pastor Su, I must admit that I am sick! Depression! I need your prayers and help..." I was shocked! This sister always talks, laughs, and is cheerful and enthusiastic. I have always thought that she is a typical optimist. I never expected it... For two or three months, I accompanied the couple through a very, very difficult journey with prayers and words.
In fact, in the past year, I myself have experienced many severe challenges in ministry and in my personal life, and sometimes I even felt as if I was unable to overcome them. However, in spiritual meditation, in accompanying others, and in listening to messages, Heavenly Father speaks through the prophet Hosea, who lived over 2,700 years ago.
Perhaps you and I can think about the prophet’s blood and tear testimony from Hosea Chapter 6:1-3, which is also his heartfelt and earnest appeal, and also see God’s revelation.
Come, let us return to the Lord! If He tears us, He will heal us; if He wounds us, He will bind us. After two days, He will revive us, and on the third day, He will raise us up. In His presence we survive. We must know Jehovah and pursue to know Him. His appearance is sure as the morning light, and He will come to us like the sweet rain, like the spring rain that nourishes the fields.
“Returning to the Lord” is a process that requires a great price [Section 1-2]
What price did Hosea pay for himself? In the modern Chinese translation of the Bible, the compiler’s introduction to Hosea states:
During the turbulent period before the fall of Samaria in 722 BC, the prophet Hosea succeeded the prophet Amos in preaching God's message in the northern kingdom of Israel. He was particularly concerned about the people's idolatry and unfaithfulness to God.
At God’s command, he compared his marriage to an unfaithful woman to the faithlessness of the people of Israel. Just as his wife, Gomer, was unfaithful to him, so God's people have turned their backs on Him. Therefore, God’s punishment will come upon Israel.
But in the end, God's great faithfulness and unfailing love for His people will prevail; He will win Israel back. Return to a normal relationship. God's love is fully expressed in the following moving words: "How can I forsake you, O Ephraim? How can I forsake you, O Israel... I have changed my mind, and my compassion has been greatly aroused!" (11:8)
The marriage covenant is the most familiar covenant to everyone, so God asked the prophet to use the marriage covenant to symbolize His covenant relationship with people. People may be rebellious, defective, and fickle, but God never changes and always keeps His covenant. Therefore, not only did Hosea's marital status become a prophecy and symbol, but so did the names of his three children.
What is the process of “turning to the Lord”? In the eyes of the prophet, there are three stages of Jehovah’s carving on His people—
The first day: tearing, bruises; the second day: silence, waiting/healing, wrapping; the third day: revival, restoration.
Although it is not explicitly stated in the Bible, we can reasonably infer from the context that between "tearing and wounding" and "awakening and rising", there must be a stage of "silence and waiting", and this stage is definitely not Nothing happened. There seems to be silence, but in fact Heavenly Father is already healing and wrapping up. When His time comes, He will surely bring us into a new realm and experience His faithfulness and power again. This is 3-Day Story!
The so-called "three days" may be three weeks, three months, three years, or even three stages of the same event. And you may meet it more than once in your life. For example: a war, a car accident, a new coronavirus infection, a major depression; or a marriage full of tears and challenges, a gay child coming out, a family member falling into drug or gambling addiction, or a fall by an elder in the family. The sequelae….
In the process of paying the price to return to the Lord, we will learn more about His faithfulness [Section 3]
Next, we also need to know: Since "turning to the Lord" is a process that requires paying a great price, then in the process of paying the price to return to the Lord, we will surely be able to know Him better. What do you know about Him? Know His faithfulness.
See how the prophet described Heavenly Father’s faithfulness—
He appears as surely as the sun rises;
He will come to us like winter rains;
He will come to us like spring rains.
"Gan Yu" in the Chinese Union Version actually means "Winter Rain" in the original text. Winter rain can soak the seeds buried in the ground and accumulate vitality; spring rain can make crops take root, sprout, and ear. The effect of spring rain seems to be very obvious, but the silent winter rain is actually equally important. Winter rain, isn't it like the healing and wrapping that happens silently in silence and waiting on the second day of the 3-Day Story?
Have you or I ever had a "Hosea moment" in our personal, family, church, or professional lives when we felt overwhelmed, challenged, and overwhelmed?
Uncertain epidemic situation, uncertain world situation, uncertain economic prospects... What is certain? thank God,“For whatever promises God has made, they are yes in Christ and therefore true through Him, so that God may be glorified through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)Such precious "certainty" will surely inspire us to take strong and bold steps of faith to face the 100% certain promise of God the Father!
About the sister who came to me for help with depression. I am not a psychiatrist, but based on my understanding of serving at the True Love Family Association for more than 20 years, depression is not caused by personality defects, nor is it a disease disguised, nor is it just laziness or simple depression. Patients with depression often describe themselves as falling into a bottomless abyss. To help themselves or their family members stop "sinking downward" and strive to "move upward" requires great patience, courage, and unconditional love and companionship from their family members.
I hope that brothers and sisters who are falling into depression or are surrounded by people with depression will know that no matter how deep the depression is, there is a ladder to climb; no matter how severe the depression is, true love can bear it. In the midst of feeling worthless, helpless, and completely hopeless, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and there is still a path to follow in the fog!
The winter rain soaks the seeds buried in the ground and accumulates vitality, just like the wrapping and healing that occurs silently in silence.
Experiencing a "Hosea moment" in the depths of depression
Teacher Jiang Haiqiong, a fellow writer who I admire, once described her own experience of suffering from depression in the family magazine "True Love". It was one of the very few people who have suffered from depression that I have seen in my years of writing work. Among the testimonies, the most profound and delicate one.
The days of illness are deathly silent. The TV is on, but the images cannot enter my mind; the radio is on, but the music cannot enter my ears; the phone rings, but I have neither the strength nor the will to answer it. I didn't know I was hungry, and when my hands started to shake, I realized that my blood sugar was too low and it was time to eat. When the food goes into my mouth, it feels bland and tasteless. Gradually, the phone rang less and less, because my friends thought that if I didn’t answer the phone, I needed to be quiet and recuperate.
Many times I went an entire week without seeing or talking to anyone. Sunday was my only chance to interact with people, but I was afraid to go to church because I didn’t know how to answer greetings. If you say "I am very good", it is not the truth; if you say "I am not very good", you cannot clearly explain why you are not good. And I also doubt how many people actually care about my response. Because of my poor sleep quality, it was difficult to fall asleep and I was easily awakened from nightmares. So when it was time to get up, my whole body was still sore and tired. Coupled with the boredom and hopelessness of life, I couldn't get up no matter what. After finally getting up, I found something to wrap my belly around, and then lay on the sofa all day. ⋯⋯
When it was time to go to bed, thinking of the pain of tossing and turning, I couldn't even go up the ten steps and didn't dare to face the bed upstairs. In fact, isn’t it just sleep that I dare not face? It’s as if all the frustrations in my life are coming back to me. It’s not just my mood that hits rock bottom, but my self-esteem, self-confidence, and the will and courage to live. ⋯⋯
For many sleepless nights, I huddled in a corner of the living room, lost in a sea of sad tears. How I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up again! How many times have I lost the instinct to cry out to God and allowed loneliness, loneliness, fear, pain, and despair to gnaw at my soul. I wanted to pray, but my mind went blank and I didn’t know how to say it. I spread out the Bible, but sat at the table in a daze, unable to read a word. As a Christian and a preacher, but I couldn’t read the Bible and pray, I didn’t dare to tell anyone, so I could only hate myself in my heart. This is the dryness of spiritual life, more painful than death.
One night, when I was in despair, Romans 8:26 suddenly came to mind: “Moreover, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know how to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings unutterable. ”.
This passage suddenly appeared, as if a clear spring gushes out of my dark and dry soul.
I said to myself, "Okay, let the Holy Spirit pray for me!" I no longer blamed or humbled myself for not being able to read the Bible and pray, but completely surrendered myself to God. From that day on, I felt like I was slowly making progress. At least there was less time for tears. It's still a struggle to get out of bed in the morning, but once I'm awake, I'm not as tired as before.
One morning, while I was brushing my teeth, I suddenly heard someone humming. "Who is it?" I felt strange and stopped the electric toothbrush. Only then did I realize that it was me who was humming the song.
Wow! Music is back in my life. I couldn't help but jump for joy and quickly put on a CD. I was so excited that I felt like I was hearing a beautiful melody for the first time in my life. God had a sense of humor and used such a dramatic approach to tell me that the road to recovery was unfolding before me. ⋯⋯Next, although there will still be ups and downs and struggles, the morning light of life has arrived, shining brighter and brighter. ⋯⋯
The hurt caused by "divorce" is like a porcelain bottle being thrown to the ground. God picked up the broken pieces and glued them together piece by piece with His love and mercy. Then, depression was like a demon, taking away my spirit, health, and will. I was thrown to the ground again and became a puddle of mud. However, God gently lifted me up and reshaped me into a new creation. Not only that, He opened a new path for me, leading me forward step by step. (Refer to "Climbing out of the abyss of depression")
Next, in just six or seven years until she finally returned to heaven due to ALS, Jiang Haiqiong registered and established the "Xishuibean Caring Single-Parent Families Association" in the United States and Taiwan to serve many single-parent families. Next, he completed his thesis and obtained a doctorate from the seminary; and one month before he was buried in the Lord, he relied on the help of good friends to complete the book "Single Parent" published with True Love, even though he was unable to write and speak normally. "Not Alone" books and audio textbooks are still classics and excellent tools for single self-growth and care for single parents.
Integrate into Heavenly Father’s 3-Day Story
If we read the four gospels carefully, we will find that when the Lord Jesus tells a story, he will never tell only half of it. In other words, He will not only tell Day 1 and Day 2, but will definitely tell the entire 3-Day Story. .
In Luke 15, the Lord Jesus said that the lost sheep were frightened and wailing in the mountains; the lost coins were lying hopelessly in the dust; the wandering prodigal son degenerated and squandered, and finally became so poor that he wanted to eat pig food. When it comes to this, it seems that all I see is loss, frustration, and despair. Fortunately, this is only Day 1 and Day 2.
Jesus then told the most exciting Day 3 Story: The money was found! The sheep were also found! The prodigal son who almost ruined his life finally turned around! The ending is not lost, but found by the Father! Suffering, failure, difficulties... are by no means the whole story. Otherwise, wouldn't life be nothing but absurdity and pain?
The gospel story cannot bring life to people if it only stops at the cross and the tomb. Only resurrection can make the cross of great significance to us and help us transcend despair and walk into hope! You see, isn’t the 3-Day Story exactly the entire process of the Lord Jesus from his crucifixion to his resurrection? On Day 1, He was crucified, torn, wounded, and killed; on Day 2, His body lay in a cold and dark tomb, but the power of God was already at work, and the angels, hosts of heaven, and all the power of heaven and earth were Ready to go; Day 3, ushering in the glorious resurrection!
I firmly believe that you and I can all share our own 3-Day Stories, and when our stories are connected with Heavenly Father, integrated into His eternal plan, and become part of His big story, we will be like the prophet Hosea. Proclaimed: Welcome the morning light of life!
Let us pour out our hearts to the Lord together:
Oh God! Yes, we all have stories to tell and stories to tell. Oh God! Let us not only hear the stories of the great men of faith in the Bible, not only hear the stories of the brothers and sisters around us, but also let us trust you and follow you wholeheartedly in the waves of challenges and struggles in life, so that our Stories can fit into your eternal grand plan and become part of your bigger story. Let us often experience the 3-Day Story together in Your amazing grace, testify that "those who trust in the Lord are truly blessed," and welcome the morning light of life.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us unconditionally and accepts us, we pray, Amen!
Andrew Su, Vice President of the International True Love Family Association, Editor-in-Chief of True Love Family Magazine and Kingdom of God Magazine.