Return to the Lord Within

Neville's Inner Vision

Within Hosea, the return is a restoration of consciousness. The 'I AM' within you turns from the old idols of fear and dependency toward the living Lord who resides as your awareness. The act to 'Take with you words' becomes the practice of uttering new sentences from your now-state: 'Take away all iniquity, and receive me graciously,' spoken as a thing already accomplished in the inner world, not merely asked for. When God says, 'I will heal their backsliding,' you hear it as a definite inner healing, a turning of the heart from guilt to confident love. The dew promised is the touch of refreshed awareness that nourishes growth; you are the lily, rooted deep as Lebanon, expanding in beauty and fragrance. Your branches spread, your shade returns to those who seek shelter in you, and your fruit appears as the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim's resolve to abandon idols mirrors your own, as you realize the fruit comes from your rootedness in God, not from external rituals. If you accept this rightness, the wise understand these things and the just walk in them; you rise in a state where correction and mercy are your constant atmosphere.