How can I give you up

Verses I read today that spoke/related to me/provided comfort, instruction:

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed
a refuge in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you Lord. (PS: 9:9-10)

You, Lord, will guide us; You will protect us (PS 12:7)

How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? ... Restore brightness to my eyes, otherwise...my enemy will say, 'I have triumphed over him,' and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord [yay singing's my favorite] because he has treated me generously [aka, not as my sins deserve] (PS 13:2,3,4, 5-6)

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up (Prov. 12:25)

I had been storing up anxious concerns and agony and it did weigh me down. The last sermon I heard at home was over 1 Peter 5:7 - "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you." The preacher emphasized the "ALL" which I am so quick to read right over, not absorbing that God wants to help us with ALL our anxieties.

What a friend we have in Jesus
ALL our sins and griefs to bear
What a priveledge to carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer

Don't get drunk with wine which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the spirit (Eph 5:18)

And now, some reflections on love.

LOVE COVERS OVER ALL WRONGS (PROV 10:12)

I love this one because it doesn't say where love exists there will never be wrongs, but that the love is bigger and stronger to cover over any and all hurts.

God says to his unfaithful people, "How can I give you up...how can I hand you over" (Hosea 11:8), even despite their unfaithfulness, which is what we desire, is it not? That even though we turn astray, to know God loves us so much that He will not walk away or abandon us? And does he call us to do the same for each other, not to give up on them or abandon them in their weakness? His heart goes out to us; He is the love that will not let us go, and calls us to be the same.

I had written in my Bible: "God is willing to maintain a relationship even when His spouse has become a coarse and vulgar prostitute."

The verse I wrote this by says, "I will take you to be my wife forever. I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord" (Hosea 2:19-20).

Then the Lord said to me, 'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes' - Hosea 3:1

Though Lord willing this issue of unfaithfulness will never come up in my current love relationship, I think it is good to consider how God instructs Hosea to 'go, show your love to your wife again,' which can apply to other circumstances, such as when he may make me angry or frustrated, even when I may not feel like it, to make a choice to show love anyway.

My friend quoted Hebrews 13:5 - one of God's many promise to us - in her vows on her wedding day, "never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." I am convinced this promise applies to marriage, and I want that to be the promise I make to my husband.