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Our text today is Hosea 11:2-3:

The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. — Hosea 11:2-3

One of the strangest things about human nature is how quickly we forget who carried us.

"The more they were called, the more they went away."

God kept pursuing His people, and they kept running. He called them, protected them, provided for them, healed them, and sustained them. Yet instead of turning toward Him, they credited someone—or something—else.

People pray desperately when life falls apart. But when success comes, they quietly credit their effort, strategy, intelligence, discipline, or luck. We often explain away the hand of God because self-explanation feels easier than surrender. This is what I would call functional atheism.

Functional atheism is when someone says they believe in God but lives as though everything ultimately depends on themselves. We work hard and forget who gave us the ability. We build something meaningful and forget who opened the door. We survive a painful season and forget who carried us through it.

Sometimes we even resent the very moments God used to save us from ourselves.

I have experienced that personally. Some of the seasons I disliked most—moments of frustration, limitation, discipline, redirection, or pain—were actually moments where God was protecting me. At the time, I wanted God to remove the challenge. Looking back, I can see He was carrying me through something I could not yet understand.

That is the image in this verse.

A father teaching his child to walk. Holding him under the arms. Steadying shaky steps. Or even a wounded son learning to walk again after injury, leaning fully on the strength of his father.

And Hosea says, "They did not know that I healed them."

That may be one of the most heartbreaking lines in the chapter. The Father was healing while they went on, ignoring him.

We have all done this. We are constantly too distracted, self-focused, hurried, or emotionally numb to notice the quiet grace of God holding our lives together. Then, when life goes wrong, we blame Him. But when life goes right, we take the credit.

Yet God keeps taking us up by our arms.

That is the compassion of God.

So maybe today is not just about gratitude. Maybe it is about surrender.

Slow down long enough to notice where God has carried you. Look back at the closed doors, the painful seasons, the frustrations, the discipline, and even the losses. You may discover that God was protecting you far more than punishing you.

And instead of taking credit for surviving, succeeding, or enduring, surrender the glory back to Him. Because the God who carried you this far is still carrying you right now.

Take ten quiet minutes today and write down three moments where you now realize God was protecting, guiding, or carrying you—even when you did not understand it at the time.

1. Where have I taken credit for what God sustained?
2. How have I practiced functional atheism in my daily life?
3. What difficult season might God have used to protect me from myself?