October 20

Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly. — Hos 2:14 BSB

The margin reads "to her heart," and that is how God speaks—to the heart. This is the special characteristic of His voice. Men can speak to the ear, and no more, but God speaks to the heart, for it is only there that His voice can be truly heard. All true religion, from first to last, resides in the heart. A person may have their head full of ideas, but if their heart is empty of grace, it means nothing. But it’s not this way with the vessels of mercy, for they "believe with the heart unto righteousness," and it is through the voice of God speaking in the heart that a saving faith is brought forth. God must speak to the heart if there is to be any true heart religion, any sound or saving experience, any real knowledge of the truth that brings salvation. In the wilderness, we come to realize just how deeply we need God to speak to our hearts. We need the Lord Himself to speak, and only the Lord, with words that reach deep into our hearts and enter with divine power into our conscience.

When you are in the wilderness, you have no friend, no earthly help, no worldly comfort—they have all abandoned you. God leads you into the wilderness to strip away these earthly ties, these creature comforts, so that He may speak directly to your soul. If you find yourself separated from the world, going through trials and afflictions, battling temptations, and seeing no help or hope from earthly things, then you are in a place where only God's voice, speaking with power, can give you solid rest and peace. Is this not a profitable experience? It may be painful, and often is, but it is beneficial because through it, we learn to rely on the Lord alone. And that is a blessed lesson for every child of God to learn.