Living on the Street

“Come, let us return to the LORD.” (Hosea 6:1 NIV)

Her son left home when he was fifteen. He has been living on the streets for the last nine years. He calls her occasionally from different places, but she doesn’t know exactly where he is. He struggles with addictions. He suffers daily--scraping to find food, sleeping on park benches, exposed to the cold winter nights, victimized by violence, rejected and abused by strangers.  His mom can’t do much to help until he chooses to return home. She has been praying for him to turn his life around, to stay clean, to be healed and whole. She doesn’t have any other expectations at this point. She just wants him to come home.

Our Father in Heaven is also waiting. We choose to live apart from Him, on our own terms, hooked on the empty promises that this world offers. We call on Him occasionally when we are desperate, when we need a short-term fix. We don’t want to give up our habits; we just need an infusion of blessing to keep our agenda afloat. We are not ready to live according to His standards; instead, we ask Him to help us live according to our own minimal standards. Our Father sees the suffering that comes with our choices. He wants us to repent, to turn around, and go back to living with Him.

Lord, we are truly sorry for living apart from You. Help us to detach from our physical desires and worldly aspirations. Rescue us from our obsessions.  We want to return to You, be influenced by you, live according to your intentions. Help us.