Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Out of the mouth of the Lord

Saturday, February 16, 2002

Isaiah 58:9:14
If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and
if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and
satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, and
your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and
will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and
from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight and
the Lord's holy day honorable, and
if you honor it by not going your own way and
not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the Lord, and
I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to
feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

In the back of my mind, I hear someone shouting on TV: the Lord has spoken. The LORD has spoken. GAWD has spoken. Something about the guy's accent, or his slick suit, or just the fact that a few minutes ago on the same TV I saw an ad for a weight trainer, and another ad for a CD of country music, and another ad for Budweiser (True!)...I don't take in the Lord's words as really the Lord's words. They are just this guy's words. Cheap, transparent, televised, meaningless words.

We saw a play last night at Krannert Center, a play by Eric Coble called "Virtual Devotion." Jesus comes back to the world, a lot like ours, where people don't get together much anymore; they mostly reach out and touch someone via telephone and television. The few required face to face contacts don't open with hellos; instead the conventional greeting starts with me saying, "I've got a gun," and then you say, "Me too."

No one recognizes Jesus. He tries delivering pizzas, talks to people at the drive-through hamburger heaven; he takes a spot on the Home Shopping Network. Personal crisis breaks two of the three main characters, and finally they turn off their TVs and fall on their knees. The play ends with the recently powerful television evangelist dying of the "mystery plague", lying in Jesus arms. Jesus tells him to be still, to listen to the silence.

For the first time in a long time he hears something besides his own voice and the clamor around him. The mouth of the Lord speaks in the silence, in the peace that comes for him just then in Jesus' arms. Although it is only a whisper, there is no doubt this time. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Your words, Lord, are beautiful and true. Your words fill my heart with joy and hope. I will listen, Lord, listen more closely. Listen. Be still and listen.

Devotions Archive

Out of the mouth of the Lord

Saturday, February 16, 2002