“And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
“That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me ‘My Master’.” (Hosea 2:16)

“The LORD is my Husband” is not the most common phrase to hear – especially coming from a guy. But a beautiful truth is revealed once we shift our notion of marriage from a romantic concept towards a more covenantal position.

I’m certain I’m not the one who has been seared and scarred by the anguish of unrequited love. It’s such a tangible hurt, that burrows deep into the soul, when you see the person you are devoted to turn their heel to find satisfaction elsewhere.

I believe that’s how God feels each time we sin. Every time we choose to find our joy, our pleasure, our satisfaction in something other than Him, we are forsaking and rejecting His love towards us.

So the pain you felt when someone rejected you? Use that to empathise with God in his view of us.

“She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry,
And went after her lovers;
But Me she forgot,” says the Lord. (Hosea 2:13b)

We are the most wretched partners ever … and yet:

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak comfort to her.” (Hosea 2:14)

You see that “therefore”? It means that God is pursuing us not despite of our wandering heart but because of it. He knows that left to our own devices, we’ll spurn and scorn Him, but He also knows that He can’t – in His mercy – leave us in this state.

We forgot Him, but He won’t forget us.

The relentless pursuit of love that is not requited is excruciating. Yet God the Husband is still pursuing us up to this day, that we may turn from our ways and return to Him.

We forgot Him, but He won’t forget us.

The perfect Husband redeems, restores and renews the one He loves; all these in spite of our wanton wandering, regardless of how far we have transgressed.

Which is why I am proud and humbled to declare that He is God my Husband.

So I wear this as the symbol of our engagement – the seal of commitment, the seal of betrothal:

It is a little reminder of what was done for me, to remind me to be faithful – for I belong to Him.

“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:19-20)

For I am Yours, and You are mine, forever.