I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. (Hos 5:15)

There was a time when I turned away from my Savior and went headlong into sin. I denied myself no pleasure. I expected a thunderstorm in my soul, but nothing seemed to happen.

Headlong into selfish pleasures, and a week later... nothing seemed to happen. Where was this God of love? I began to know a terrible loneliness. There was no song in my heart- only empty indulgence and fear of being alone forever without the Lord.

I would warn you against such foolishness. But Christian, if you have done as I did, though in yourself you see no hope- hope in God. This was my prayer: "Lord, if You do not save me, I have no hope." Do you know the emptiness? How terrible lonely it feels to find no trace of the Lord.

If you are in such an affliction and cannot find the Lord you once had trusted, then acknowledge your sin, and seek Him. In His time you will know His mercy and forgiveness. He will return you into His abundant life. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being kind and loving. Even though we turn away into wickedness, You are merciful. Be gracious to us- whether we have turned away, or whether we have forgotten that we are saved in Christ- not because of what we have done, but because He died for us and lives to walk with us. Amen.

Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. (Isa 55:7)

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