When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and offering incense to idols.
Hosea 11:1-2
Read: Hosea 11:1-11
I’m not always good about praying before a meal. When I’m at church or out with church friends it seems obvious, but at home I often forget. I’m either too hungry after preparing a meal or too focused on cleanup to take the moment to pause and pray. I wonder if this happens for more than just meals. Very often, it seems, we might pray when someone is in need or at times we’re used to praying, but I don’t always think to pray when I’m surprised with a blessing. If I succeed, it’s easy to think that it was a product of my own effort or hard work, rather than a blessing from above. Yet Wesley says that God “is the spring of action in every creature, visible and invisible, which could neither act nor exist without the continued influx of God’s almighty power.” (Sermon on the Mount, VI)
How would things change if we lived thankful lives, rather than counting our blessings when prompted or on that one Thursday every year? How would life look different with the constant awareness of God with us, in us, and working through us? Ignoring God is a form of idolatry, and Hosea (along with a lot of the Bible) emphasizes that things fall apart when people get out of sync with God. This makes sense, if I think that it’s just my doing that put food on the table, then the person without any just didn’t work hard enough. Without a thankful heart we can become callous, uncaring, or selfish. What do you have to be thankful for today? How was God at work today? Where is God taking you tomorrow?
Christ be with us, Christ before us, Christ behind us,
Christ in us, Christ beneath us, Christ above us,
Christ on our right, Christ on our left,
Christ where we lie, Christ where we sit, Christ where we arise,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of us,
Christ in every eye that sees us,
Christ in every ear that hears us.
Salvation is of the Lord,
Salvation is of the Christ,
May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.
(SAINT PATRICK, IRELAND, 5TH CENT., ALT.)
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