Day 159 – How Can I Give You Up?

Hosea 11–13
Matthew 19

Even after everything, some love just won't let go. In Hosea 11, God sounds like a parent remembering a toddler's first steps. When Israel was a child, I loved him. I taught Ephraim to walk. I took them up in my arms. And then, after chapters of hard accusation, comes the question that breaks something open. How can I give you up, Ephraim? His compassion is stirred, and He refuses to let go. Matthew 19 places that divine refusal right next to a very human one. Jesus upholds marriage, welcomes the children the disciples try to shoo away, and then meets a wealthy young man who has kept every commandment but can't open his hands around the one thing he loves most. He walks away sad. Held together, today's passages call us to notice a striking pair. God refuses to let go of us, even while our own hands stay closed around things we won't release.

At the heart of these chapters is a simple idea. God's love will not give up on us, even while we cling to what we're unwilling to surrender.

So where does this leave us today? Here are three steps.

First, bring to God one thing you sense you're holding too tightly, and pray honestly about what it would mean to loosen your grip.

Second, recall a specific moment when God carried you before you could walk on your own, and thank Him out loud for it, right where you are.

Third, give unhurried attention today to a child, or to someone easily overlooked, and receive them the way Jesus did.

Before the day gets busy, remember this. God will not let you go. The question is what you won't let go of.

Thank you for joining me today. May God's compassion for you feel real, may He loosen your grip on whatever competes with Him, and may you carry someone overlooked in your attention and your prayers today. Until tomorrow, live what you've heard today and let it shape all you do.