The long weekend in May is often the beginning of camping season. People get into their RVs and go on a bit of a road trip to connect with nature and get away from the rat race of life. It reminded me of a trip we took to visit our daughter and her husband when they lived at Prince George.

We left Fort St. John and everything seemed fine. About an hour out, the car began handling a little weird. We stopped for supper in Chetwynd BC and discovered our tire was flat. We never heard a pop. We didn’t remember running over anything… If you’ve ever had a flat tire, I think you can relate. If you’ve ever had a slow leak in a tire, you probably didn’t notice it until the tire was completely flat.

I love to read from the Old Testament in my morning devotional time. Because much of our view of God and our lives is based so much on Jesus, much of our time is spent looking at the New Testament. However, I believe it is a good thing to look back at how the Old Testament, especially the prophets, and see God and how He related with humanity.

The book of Hosea is an interesting book because it describes the relationship between Hosea and Gomer, a prostitute whom God told Hosea to marry. It is symbolic of Israel’s relationship with God and how they kept falling away from Him. Was it an overnight thing? No. Over a period of time, the people of God gradually drifted away from Him.

In Hosea 7-8 we have the description of a slow spiritual leak. It probably started just as it does with us – a small sin, an act that looked quite harmless. But it resulted in disorder and eventually in God’s judgment. One stage in the people’s downward spiral is noted in Hosea 8:12, where God says: “I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien.” God had become a stranger among His own people, and they treated His words as something remote and unrelated to their lives.

A phrase I’ve heard a lot of people use at one time or another is, “I don’t want to hear it.” That’s how Hosea records the reaction of the people to the Word of God. The Word did not fit their lifestyle, so they closed their ears and went their own way.

During the days of Hosea the prophet, God pleaded with His people, year after year, to repent and turn to Him. His love and compassion are clearly seen in these pages from the Old Testament. But His people refused to listen and brought judgment on themselves.

To read the Bible, to hear the voice of God, to believe and to obey – that way leads to life. Sometimes we can become so engrossed in the busyness of life that we don’t notice the small leaks in our lives. That is why it is so important to spend time in the Word and in prayer. As God reveals things to us (spiritual leaks), shouldn’t we should stop and take the time to get it repaired?

I want to encourage each of us, that if the Lord is speaking to you, open your heart to Him and get back on the road of daily discipleship. As Christians and disciples of Jesus, we follow God’s leading in all areas of life – and we do that through reading and applying the Word of God to our lives. Are you open to God’s voice, or is there something you don’t want to hear from Him? May the Lord bless you and give you a great week of living in His love and presence.