”The Lord is the God of Armies; the Lord is his name. But you must return to your God. Maintain love and justice, and always put your hope in God. But Ephraim thinks, “How rich I have become; I made it all myself. In all my earnings, no one can find any iniquity in me that I can be punished for!”“
Hosea 12:5-6, 8 CSB
Ephraim has extreme confidence in himself and that he is doing everything right. But his confidence comes from looking at the results of his effort. Things are going well for him so he believes that he is doing everything right. He is trusting in himself!
God has just pointed out that He (God) is the most powerful being and has all authority over everything…and our primary responsibility is to trust God only. In the midst of trusting God, we should love others and act justly.
These statements are intensely contradictory…but Ephraim is blind to it. It seems so obvious, blatantly clear and yet he is more confident in the success “he” has created. What a dangerous place to live…
God, I know I have this same tendency…I have idolized success and accomplishment which has brought me nothing but pain, regret and suffering. Please keep my blinders off, help me to recognize when I move into that mentality. Help me to instantly run to you and repent. I am done with false confidence…I want to rest in and be confident in you, the God of Armies.
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