Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

O dear Lord, one thing I pray

Tuesday, February 26, 2002

Isaiah 1:16-20
Your hands are full of blood;
wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the
fatherless,
plead the case of the
widow.
"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;
but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the
sword."
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

In my experience, the phrase "Be reasonable" is usually used in argument from a position of weakness. And I think God purposely makes himself weaker here as he speaks through Isaiah to the king, the elders, the powerful.

And what an offer he makes. Just do what you already know is right, he says, and you will be given forgiveness and food from the finest table, satisfaction and significance, prosperity and peace of mind.

What's so hard about what he asks? No one ridicules worthy causes like justice, relieving oppression, or caring for lost children and lonely grandparents. Why does God not only have to ask twice, but endlessly, pleading with us to act?

Something I see in myself...I think I'm doing something when I'm not. Self-justification, rationalizations, excuses, and just plain pretending get in the way of my actions every day. To do what God asks requires sacrifice of my time, my money, my privacy, my security. I know that. So...I do a little, and don't do a lot.

Being in exile, having already found the bottom of the barrel, might make it easier to hear God and do what he asks. But I'm not in exile. Life is sweet and good and bountiful and full of ripe cherries that burst in my mouth. I find sacrifice difficult. So I am at least glad that God does not stop asking me to listen a little closer, and do more of what he wants me to do. I am going to listen closer. Honest, I really am.

Father, I cannot see the blood on my hands. But something deep inside tells me it is there. I have not listened to you. I'm afraid to ask your forgiveness, because I don't know when I'll start listening more. Forgive me for that, Father. Please keep on talking. I am your son, you are my father. I will listen to you. Amen.

Devotions Archive

O dear Lord, one thing I pray

Tuesday, February 26, 2002