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Read more about our mission to teach every verse of the bible in what we call Project23.

Grab your Hosea Scripture Journal.

Our text today is Hosea 9:1-2:

Rejoice not, O Israel!
Exult not like the peoples;
for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.
You have loved a prostitute's wages
on all threshing floors.
Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them. — Hosea 9:1-2

Not all joy is real.

Israel was celebrating, but God told them to stop. Why? Because their joy was disconnected from the reality of a living relationship with Him. They were celebrating life while abandoning the God who gave them a reason to celebrate.

And God says that kind of joy won't last. I love this line:

"The new wine shall fail them."

The very things they trusted for temporal happiness were about to leave them spiritually dry.

You see, you can stay entertained and still feel empty.
You can have more and enjoy less.
You can build a full life and still feel hollow.

Because intoxication with things may provide temporary relief, but they will not bring fulfillment like God. They cannot sustain you. They were not meant to sustain you. They are circumstantial. They fade. They demand more. They will eventually, it leave you restless.

When this happens, this is not God taking joy away. This is God exposing a joy that was never true joy.

So turn the question inward: What is my joy built on right now? Where am I seeking joy?

If it is built on temporal comfort, success, or escape, it will fail you. Those things were never meant to carry your soul. Real joy is rooted in God. And it doesn't disappear when life shifts.

Here's the hope. It's not too late.

If your joy feels thin… return to the Lord.
If your soul feels tired… return to the Lord.

Because real joy isn't found in running from God. It's found in coming back.

DO THIS:

Notice what you reach for today when you want relief, and turn to God first instead.

ASK THIS:

1. Where am I looking for joy apart from God?
2. What has stopped satisfying me?
3. What would it look like to return?

PRAY THIS:

God, show me where I've settled for shallow joy. Lead me back to you and restore what only you can give. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Graves Into Gardens"