Thursday Reflection- November 25, 2021

Thursday Reflection- November 25, 2021

Look to God for Salvation

Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” Hosea 14:3 NRSV

Good day friends,

In our lives we look for help and salvation from so many different sources. We turn to people whom we feel can help or even to things such as money. We look for the most advance technology or the strongest person we know to help. We also even turn to ourselves. But here in our text we’re told to turn to God.

The Children of Israel also turned to people and technology for help, much to the displeasure of the Lord. They turned to Assyria, a superpower, during their time for help and even gave them tributes or money to appease them. On different occasions God sent prophets to advise them otherwise and in so doing they are putting their trust in man instead of God.

Not only did they turn to superpowers such as Assyria, but they turned to Egypt which had the latest in advance technology. They had chariots and horses specially adorned for war. The people felt Assyria and Egypt could provide more protection than the Lord their God and hence turned their backs on God.

Also the people placed their trust in their own abilities and the work of their own hands as they built idols. At the heart of this was pride in their own accomplishments as they built with their own hands. They felt they could rely on themselves as well and not on God. How true is this statement that we only turn to God when we’re no longer in control, but once we are in control we tend not to rely on the Lord, but our own abilities as the people of Israel.

Similarly, when we put our trust in people or technology or even in our own intellect or own hands, instead of God we displease the Lord. God has called us to trust him with our salvation. God demonstrates His power in the text with the statement, “In you the orphan finds mercy.”

The orphan is considered to be powerless, fragile, destitute, lonely, and in a helpless condition. The orphan cannot help themselves as their parents have either died or abandoned them. There is no one to depend on or rely on. This is a true state of helplessness, but we’re told that the orphan finds mercy in God. Only God can help them from their helpless position. Only God can save them and so He offers mercy.

What Hosea is trying to bring forth is that if God can help the orphan whose position is worse than any of our position, then He can help us. He will also be merciful to us. So instead of trying to solve your situations on your own by seeking the help of the “so-called” strong or the use of technology, or even ourselves let us turn to God for salvation. Whilst the strong and the use of technology are both useful, both are temporary as well as reliance in our own ability. True salvation comes from God.

Shalom

Christopher Euphfa