“You Have Not Returned to Me” (Amos 4:6-5:7)

"I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; your young men I killed with a sword, along with you captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me, Says the Lord. I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me, Says the LORD."(vs10-11)

Sinners don't return to the Lord, when He afflicts (vs6-11). They seek everything but the salvation that only He can give. The curse is upon us because of Adam and our sin in Him, and the Lord alone can remedy it and heal us. We need grace, forgiveness, and obedience, but this comes from the Lord. These are not things that can be found at the psychologist/witch doctor, nor can they be found by looking within or in false religion (Col 2:1-10). These are God's gifts to us, so that everything needed is from Him.

Be wise, return to the Lord, and seek Him. Confess your sinfulness and your pain to God in Christ, “For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek Me and live; but do not seek Bethel, nor enter Gilgal, nor pass over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing. Seek the Lord and live, lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, with no one to quench it in Bethel – you who turn justice to wormwood, and lay righteousness to rest in the earth!” (Amos 5:4-7). Trust Him for the grace that's promised in scripture and conquer by the power of God Almighty.

You don't have to bring Him anything of your own: no strength or goodness. Seek Him as you are, and for Christ's sake, He'll meet your needs. People think that God won't help, but they are wrong; He will. “And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both” (Luke 7:42). Return to Him, return to obedience, and return to believing God, for we should have never left Him in the beginning. Walk with God by grace, obey Him by the Spirit, and make Him the answer of your problems.

Don't seek more sin to cover the pain of rebellion. Don't seek entertainment to blind your mind to reality. Seek the Lord. Yes, you have pain and misery. Return to Him who'll receive you. You have gone astray, but you may be returned and welcomed home. You've played the Prodigal, but know there's compassion with Him. We read, "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry” (Luke 15:20-23).