INSPIRE Devotionals With Emmanuel Afiawari Thursday, December 19, 2024 Topic: THE DILEMMA IN IDENTITY CRISIS (Part 3)! Bible Text: Proverbs 23:7A NKJV; Hosea 2:7 NKJV Proverbs 23:7A NKJV 7. For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..." Hosea 2:7 NKJV 7. She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now.’ INSPIRATION: Matthew 17: 15 - 18 gives a very pathetic description of the lunatic son of a man, "Oftentimes, he falls into the fire and at other times into the water." He had this terrible mood swing that made his condition pitiable and unpredictable. One could never tell where or how to find him. So was Gomer, Hosea's wife. During the day, she was a wife, at night, she was gone plying her trade as a prostitute. So bad it was that she could be gone for days, abandoning her husband and family. The deeper Gomer indulged, the more her chains multiplied. Her chains were not only on her unfaithfulness to her vows; they were on her mind. Her thought pattern justified her double standards. Her actions were more than the pleasure for sex; hers was a warped mindset, conditioning her to take up such extremely negative lifestyle. She sought her validation in her multiple partners. The more they had her, the greater her invalidation. We must learn to quit seeking the approval of others to the point of addiction. But that's not the crux of the matter; it was Hosea's love for her that's crucial. He'd go look for her in her customer's house, bring her home and clean her up repeatedly. The danger of not knowing true love from abuse has made many believers act like Gomer: trapped in identity crisis and living the life they've been delivered from. Yet, the messier we sink, the stronger God's compelling love reaches out to us until every lie and bondage is broken. God's love is a healing and restoring balm that breaks loose the bondage of sin and addiction. TODAY'S TAKE HOME: Do not accept the enemy's lie that keeps you bound and self-sabotaging; embrace the reality of your new identity in Christ and walk in the fullness of that reality until your profiting appears to all. PRAYER: Oh Lord, please loose me from the shackles of every lie targeted at destroying my destiny; give me the clarity of understanding to live in the fullness of all Christ has made available for me. Teach me to live in the victory that Christ in me, is the hope of glory, in Jesus name.

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