Day 3

Tuesday, November 28

Anne Chen

I have attended one wrestling match in my life. During senior year in high school, a friend and I went to a school match to cheer on classmates as they contended against a strong competitor. I remember watching a classmate who was almost immediately slammed to the ground by his opponent. Straining against the odds to overturn his adversary, it was clear he was pinned and could not get out from under the weight crushing him. This memory comes to my mind as I read today’s Scripture and contemplate how I feel under the weight of unconfessed sin.

Hosea 14:1–2 says, “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.’”

Yes, our sins inevitably bring downfall. I have known this again and again in my own life. Satan would have us remain in our fallen place, crushed under the shame and hopelessness that accompanies downfall. I picture his boot heavy on my chest, pinning me to the place where I’ve fallen, much like my classmate in high school, pinned under an adversary too strong for him. But our God is the one who frees us from this place. The passage continues, “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely” (Hos 14:4). When we repent and confess our sins, we are forgiven by our God who loves us freely and whose grace and mercy are new every morning.

This Advent season, as we wait in hope and expectation for our Lord and Savior, remember today why he came: to heal our waywardness and to love us freely as only he can. When we repent of our sin and turn to him, we find open arms to lift us up and hold us close.

Anne lives in Arlington and enjoys taking walks in nature.