In His Arms

Hosea, the prophet, wrote,

When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to idols. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them. (Hos 11:1-4)

That first verse is actually quoted in Matthew, and, interestingly enough, with an entirely different meaning. Matthew writes of Jesus as a baby in Egypt and quotes this text as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. But the text is quite meaningful beyond that. God is talking about Israel in Egypt and refers to them as "My son." He called them, He went with them, and they ignored Him. He taught them to walk and took them in His arms, and "they did not know that I healed them." Imagine that. All He did for them and they didn't know.

Some things never change. Most humans never notice that all things consist in Him (Col 1:17). But even believers fail to recognize that we can do nothing without Him (John 15:5). We are, in essence, semi-deists. We live, we breathe, we brush our teeth and earn a living, we feed ourselves ... all on our own ... never realizing it's all Him. So it's actually comforting to read, after all our failure to recognize Him in our lives, He "led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them." We fail. We do. Even believers. We fail to see His hand in everything. And He? He leads and loves and frees and feeds us. He just ... keeps ... taking care of us. We don't often recognize His hand, but we are always ... in His arms.