There are two readings for today.

SCRIPTURE: Hosea 12
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt. [Hosea 12:1]
Have you ever tried to catch the wind with your hands – good luck!
It is a futile exercise, no matter how hard you try to catch it, you can only touch a portion of it, but it will always elude you.
The idea of chasing the wind is a biblical image for the futility and meaninglessness of finding strength or success or happiness apart from God.
Hosea describes Israel’s (the ten northern tribes were sometimes called Ephraim, just as the two southern tribes were called Judah) futile attempt to find protection and help from Assyria or Egypt.
Solomon describes the futile attempt to find success or happiness by what we do or experience or accomplish: Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. [Ecclesiastes 2:11]

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? [Matthew 16:26]
What good is it, Jesus asks, to gain everything in this world, yet not have God.
Just as Solomon discovered, it’s all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
What are you pursuing with your life, what are you running to for hope or help or happiness or success?
Academic degrees, positions of power, fame and fortune, pleasure and comfort, though it all we sadly discover that “nothing is gained under the sun”.
I once heard someone describe the pursuit of happiness as someone spending their whole life climbing the ladder, only to discover at the end that it was the wrong ladder.

How many people invest in their body life, yet neglect their soul (which represents their inner self in relation to God)?
They are more concerned about the fitness of their body than they are about the fitness of their soul; outwardly they are impressive but inwardly they are mush.
Hosea describes how the people tried (and failed) to establish themselves in the world through treaties with powerful nations.
What are you grasping for to establish yourself in this life.
Or to reverse the question, how much time and energy do you invest in your soul, your relationship with God and dependence on Him for help, hope and happiness?
What you cling to, what you hope in, what you invest yourself in, this is your ‘god’.
Will it be solid, reliable, or will it be a chasing after wind?

PRAYER:
Lord, again and again the passage that I read touches something in me, showing me where and how I need to change. Help me to climb the right ladder!