Then I will return to my lair
until they have borne their guilt
and seek my face—
in their misery
they will earnestly seek me. (Hosea 5:15 NIV, 5-30-2012)

People, including me sometimes, make weird decisions. Like this one. The desire to let ourselves become miserable.

Partly by obsessing over something God has under control. Partly by letting our desires or emotions overrule God’s standards in our lives. And all by walking away from His love and His peace in a situation, we choose misery.

His response? He lets us.

Then He waits. Patiently. Until we’ve had enough of the misery and come back to Him.

Weirdest part. Sometimes, like the Israelites, we’ll spend weeks, months, or even years in misery before we return to Him.

[Father, help me to choose you over misery, and help me lead others to do the same.]