You will call Me Ishi

From the Hebrew name הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshe'a) meaning "salvation". God is so faithful to redeem.

Starting at: Hosea 2:14

"Therefore, behold (see with attention), I will allure her [Isreal, My people] and bring her into the wilderness (a barren space, a hard time, stagnant, lonely, the wilderness sets us away from all our distractions, our false-loves, makes us aware of our harlotry [yes, harlotry; any time we place anything else as our: most prized possession, continual first-choice passtime, comfort/joy/strength when we are in need], and allows Him to get our full attention without having to compete with anything else- we are barren and re-realize our true, desperate need of Him), and I will speak tenderly and to her heart. (how faithfully He whispers for us to return to Him!) 15 There I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor [troubling] to be for her a door of hope and expecation. And she shall sing there (because even in the wilderness, He is faithful and worthy of praise, He is trustworthy and renews our spirit) and respond as in the days of her youth (like the young love we experienced first coming to know Him, fervent desire and adoration, faithful in seeking Him, His presense, His heart) and as at the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt.(we have been through this before, and He has proven more steadfast and more willing to remind us of our First Love until we again grasp the full meaning!) 16 And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that you will call Me Ishi [my Husband], and you shall no more call Me Baali [my Baal].(He is not a distant God, though He alone is "Holy, Holy, Holy" [to the Jews, saying something three times over demonstrated its perfection] and just in His reign; He desires intimacy with us as between a husband and wife, which is a unique and [such a] personal, sacred experience, it ties the two together infinitely) 17 For I will take away the names of Baalim [the Baals] out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned or seriously remembered by their name. 18 And in that day will I (yet again, willingly) make a covenant for Isreal [My people] with the living creatures of the open country and with the birds of the heavens and with the creeping things of the ground. And I will break the bow and the sword [abolish battle equipment and] conflict out of the land and will make you lie down safely. 19 And I will betroth you to Me forever (no end can be found); yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness (holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude; free from sin or guilt) and justice, in steadfast (not shakable; unwavering; unbendable)love, and in mercy. 20 I will even betroth you [Lo-Ammi: not-My-people] to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know (recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate, give heed to, and cherish) the Lord. (back to the basics, back to falling inlove, desiring, persuing, and obtaining His heart, the experience of knowing Him, not just knowledge of Him) 21 And in that day I will respond, says the Lord; I will respond to the heavens [which as for rain to pour on the earth], and they shall respond to the earth [which begs for the rain it needs, 22 And the earth shall respond to the grain and the wine and the oil [which beseech it to bring them forth], and these shall respond to Jezreel [God-sows; spiritually reborn/restored Isreal, the people whom the Lord has blessed, who prays for a supply of them]. 23 And I will sow her for Myself anew in the land, and I will have love, pity and mercy for her [Lo-Ruhamah:not-pitied] who had not obtained love, pity and mercy; and I will say to those who were not my people, You are My people, and they shall say, You are my God!"

Amen (so be it), in my heart, evermore.

How truly willing am I, to live my life being an example of the Lord's heart, as Hosea did, walking steadily into heartache, betrayal, abandonment, discomfort? We read his story hear, and we see that he, his wife, their children, are just examples, pawns used for a greater plan, the chastisement and restoration of Israel; he does not get arrogant as though he has rights to a certain life, as though being a "pawn" of the Lord is unjust or toyed with.

If my life were to be written as a story, what role would I assume? Will I be found walking along as the Main Character, or will I truly walk in the joy of understanding that HE is the Main Character, and my life is just the three-fifths of a second as an extra in one scene?

Oh, that I would have the heart of Hosea, to hear You and obey You to whatever end, following Your instruction word for word, and never questioning, never forsaking the path You have set me on. For Your plan is eternal and far exceeds my knowledge or understanding, and is always, always worth the cost.

What is my life's story?