Streams in the Desert July 5 Daily Devotional

I will allure her, & bring her into the wilderness...And I will give her vineyards from thence. (Hosea 2:14,15)
A strange place to find vineyards-in the wilderness! And can it be that the riches which a soul needs can be obtained in the
wilderness, which stands for a lonely place, out of which you can seldom find your way? It would seem so, and not only that but the "Valley of Anchor," which means bitterness, is called a door of
hope. And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth!
Yes, God knows our need of the wilderness experience. He knows where and how to bring out that which is enduring. The soul has
been idolatrous, rebellious; has forgotten God, and with a perfect self-will has said, "I will follow after my lovers." But she did
not overtake them. And, when she was hopeless and forsaken, God said, "I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and
speak comfortably unto her." What a loving God is ours! --Crumbs.
We never know where God hides His pools. We see a rock, and we cannot guess it is the home of the spring. We see a flinty place,
and we cannot tell it is the hiding place of a fountain. God leads me into the hard places, and then I find I have gone into the
dwelling place of eternal springs. --Selected.