From our Old Testament reading, from Hosea: ‘I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, he shall strike root as the poplar; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon’.

‘The shall flourish as a garden …’ The idea of a garden evokes a sense of peace, and also of growth and fruitfulness. What might it mean to dwell beneath the shadow of the Lord? It is to know Him as shelter, as refuge, as the one truly safe place that we have.

May we, this day, confidently place our trust in Him, and may He bless you this day.