Advent – The Hope of Hosea

Advent is a season of reflection that has largely been hijacked by the commercialism that accompanies Christmas. However, in the Christian tradition, Advent is a time of longing and expectancy as we reflect on the birth of Christ and ultimately, our hope in his second coming.

This week, the first candle of Advent, known as the Hope (or Prophet’s) Candle was lit in churches around the world. Some traditions mark this as time to remember the prophets from the Old Testament, as well, who foretold of the birth of the Christ child.

These prophetic words from the Old and New Testaments intersect with our lives with regularity. When our “spiritual antenna” are up and we find ourselves steeped in Scripture, we experience the nearness of God through His written word. Today, I wanted to share an example of that intersection from the book of Hosea.

There are watershed moments in our lives when we stand at a crossroads. We have all faced these times, where life-shaping decisions stand in the balance and it is most often in retrospect that we catch a glimpse of the wisdom gleaned from having walked the chosen path. A veil pulled back allowing us to see how the choices we made shaped our lives and formed the building blocks of the person we have come to be. Most importantly, they serve as milestones of God’s presence in our journey, His fingerprints as evidence that He has been guiding and shaping us all along.

Many years ago, as a young man in my mid 20’s, I was faced with such a crossroads. It was one of the more difficult seasons of my life and in search of answers, I sought solitude by driving deep into the Arizona desert following an intense storm, intent on walking the normally dry washes and arroyos in search of direction for my life. But, in the Sonoran desert, summer storms can be intense and the dry ground resists the onslaught of the rain, causing the dry washes to rage with muddy brown water which cascades down from the nearby McDowell mountains. These pulsating waters can be highly destructive with a power that is gone as quickly as they arrive.

By the time I reached my destination, the riverbed was but a trickle again but what I discovered was evidence of the intense power of the water. Boulders had been dislodged and overturned, mighty Mesquite and Cottonwood trees had been uprooted and scattered like wooden match sticks. The intoxicating aroma that lingers after a desert rain is one that I will always remember – a sense memory of creosote bushes, desert brush and cactus.

As I wandered the wash, i discovered the freshly exposed roots of a Mesquite tree that had been sacrificed to the power of the flash flood. I was drawn to their beauty – twisted and gnarled, still clinging to the desert sand, a compacted mixture of stones flecked with pink and green hues. They were unlike the roots of any tree I had ever seen – mottled tones of earthy browns appearing almost sculpted by unseen hands and wrapped around the stones and sand that had kept them in place by that river bed for a hundred years.

I broke off several sections to take back with me not knowing they would be part of my soul’s journey some 15 years later.

By this time, I had moved to North Carolina in search of greener pastures. As a lifelong prodigal, I was still in search of direction and answers to some of life’s deep struggles. Graciously, I was fortunate to have crossed paths with a counselor who happened to also be a gifted artist. As we talked about my past, I mentioned how I used to wander the Arizona desert in search of solitude and direction. He opened his Bible to the book of Hosea and read the following words:

“Therefore I am now going to allure her: I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There, I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (meaning Trouble), a door of hope”

Hosea 2: 14-15

You see, Hosea is the picture of a long-suffering God who relentlessly and lovingly pursued his bride Gomer, the wife who receives and yet, rebuffs his love time and time again. Gomer is a prodigal, always wandering away from the One who loves her deeply, always in search of something to fulfill her aching soul.

As my counselor read these words, it exposed a bitter root deep within me. I was just like Gomer – always wandering in search of something to fill my heart when it was God Himself who had been wooing me into the Arizona desert all those years to speak tenderly to me. The relentless, loving Creator was offering to exchange my Valley of Trouble for His Kingdom of Hope. Isn’t that what He does for each of us along our journey?

The image in this post is that of the art created by my counselor incorporating the mesquite roots that I saved that summer in Arizona. It represents the bitter root that God was trying to expose in my life. It speaks to the tender and patient way that the Lord whispers words of Hope into difficult times. Evidence of His fingerprints on my life as I stood at that crossroad and can now look back in hindsight and see His guiding hand.

So, in this Advent season and during the week where we lit the HOPE candle, let us all be reminded that we have a living HOPE in the relentless love of Jesus. He is the One that sacrificed Himself that we might be reconciled to the Father. And, let us be reminded to be “joyfully expectant” (the Greek meaning for the word HOPE), that He will come again.

May the Lord bless you richly as you seek Him this Advent season!