GOMER - Hosea 1-3

I will punish her for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewellery, and went after her lovers but Me she forgot, says the Lord.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the days when she came up from the land of Egypt.

1. Sin in the child of God will bring the Father’s discipline, but His discipline is an act of His love (Heb.12:5ff). This is something that all who feel themselves in a spiritual wilderness need to take careful note of, and ask if their wilderness is the result of some unconfessed sin. Scripture makes it very clear that sin separates men from God, in the very beginning it caused the breach between Adam and God. Equally there is absolutely no scriptural warrant that presupposes a believer will have times when God seems distant; in fact the very opposite is promised: Jesus said He would be with us always (Matt.28:20) and we have God's wonderful promise in Hebrews 13:5 to never leave us or forsake us, and we have in John's gospel the assurance of the Lord Jesus that His disciples will know the abiding presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (see Jn.14:17-23). If you are in a spiritual wilderness and God seems far away then this should be your first port of call in seeking understanding of the situation, it is only once you are sure that there is no barrier of sin between yourself and God that other possibilities can be explored.

2. It is such a wilderness as this that the Lord uses to bring the errant sinner back to a right state of mind, the barrenness of life away from the loving care of their heavenly Father brings the backslider to a deep realisation of their need and works in their heart a longing for His blessings (Hos.2:6-8). Consider too how it was only when the prodigal son was at his lowest point that he turned his thoughts toward heaven (Lk.15:16,17). The Lord allured Gomer to the wilderness in order to speak words of comfort to her, and from there restore her hope and happiness. It is a wonderful picture of love and forgiveness. If your wilderness is a result of sin then you can be confident that God longs to restore His relationship with you and to set you back on a path of rich blessing and fulfillment. Confess your sin and be restored!

3. In Hosea the Lord sees His relationship with His people in terms of the husband and wife relationship, through the discipline and hardship comes a new and faithful commitment to the relationship on both sides. What a wonder of the Lord's mercy is exhibited here, he doesn't give up on the wayward wife but welcomes her back and can even look forward to a deeper and more faithful and prosperous relationship.

4. True repentance in the backslider always results in a renewed zeal for the things of the Lord. 2 Cor.7:11 relates some of the qualites that are produced through deep repentance, such as zeal and diligence, fear and vehement desire. When one has experienced the wilderness of loss of fellowship with God through sin, there ought to be a truly fervent desire never to repeat it and a new and deep commitment to one's relationship with the Lord. Paul saw in these qualities the evidence that the backslidden believers in Corinth were fully restored in their relationship with the Lord following deep sorrow and repentance over their sins - we should expect no less today.

We may find ourselves in a spiritual wilderness because of some sin, we need to accept the Father’s discipline graciously, knowing He loves us and has a better plan for us. Taken in the right spirit such experiences serve to lead into a fuller more consistent and zealous walk with the Lord.