Let’s strive to know the LORD. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the land. Hosea 6:3 CSB

For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 CSB

Our verses this week come from the book of Hosea in the Old Testament. We don’t know a lot about Hosea. He was a prophet, which means he spoke God’s words to the people of his time. And his name comes from the same Hebrew word as the names, Joshua and Jesus, and means salvation.

I love the first sentence. Hosea is telling his people, and us, that we should strive to know the LORD. Strive means more than just to “try to” do something. It means to work really hard to do something, to struggle or fight for something, and to be persistent (don’t give up!) in your efforts.

I want you to think about someone you know really well, outside of your family, maybe a friend or school classmate. Do you know what they like? Don’t like? Do you know what makes them happy or sad? Do you know their favorite dessert, favorite game, or sport? When you really know someone, you know lots of things about them. Hosea is telling us we should strive (work) to know the LORD.

Our second verse from Hosea is God speaking to His people through Hosea; they are God’s words. God is already telling us something about Himself. He wants our faithful love more than sacrifice and He wants us to know Him more than an offering. We can learn more about God and get to know Him better in lots of ways.

We can all learn more about God by reading the Bible, by going to church or Sunday School, by spending time with God in prayer, by asking questions, by discovering His promises to us, and by loving Him.

This week, talk with your parents, and pick one of the ways above or one thing you want to learn about God and strive, work hard, to get to know God better. Begin a list of all the things you know about God and share your new knowledge of God with others.

Blessings and love as you strive to know God better!