Weekly Memory Verse:
God was in Christ, making peace between the world and Himself...And He gave us this message of peace.
2 Corinthians 5:19 (NCV)
Meditation Thought:
When God told him to do something hard, Isaiah replied, "How long?" When was the last time I said "How long?" instead of "Why me?"
Today's Reading - Isaiah 6:1-13 (NCV) Choose another translation
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a very high throne. His long robe filled the Temple. Heavenly creatures of fire stood above him. Each creature had six wings: It used two wings to cover its face, two wings to cover its feet, and two wings for flying. Each creature was calling to the others: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord All-Powerful. His glory fills the whole earth." Their calling caused the frame around the door to shake, as the Temple filled with smoke.
I said, "Oh, no! I will be destroyed. I am not pure, and I live among people who are not pure, but I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful." One of the heavenly creatures used a pair of tongs to take a hot coal from the altar. Then he flew to me with the hot coal in his hand. The creature touched my mouth with the hot coal and said, "Look, your guilt is taken away, because this hot coal has touched your lips. Your sin is taken away."
Then I heard the Lord's voice, saying, "Whom can I send? Who will go for us?" So I said, "Here I am. Send me!" Then the Lord said, "Go and tell this to the people: 'You will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not learn.' Make the minds of these people dumb. Shut their ears. Cover their eyes. Otherwise, they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed."
Then I asked, "Lord, how long should I do this?" He answered, "Until the cities are destroyed and the people are gone, until there are no people left in the houses, until the land is destroyed and left empty. The Lord will send the people far away, and the land will be left empty. One-tenth of the people will be left in the land, but it will be destroyed again. These people will be like an oak tree whose stump is left when the tree is chopped down. The people who remain will be like a stump that will sprout again."
(Today's reading came from the New Century Version)
5 comments:
I love this reference of the Oak Tree. It's a great witness to what we have dealing with in our church.
This passage hits home for me as I am facing surgery and the uncertainty of the outcome. I have already asked "why me" and now need to focus on the "how long." I know God is in control and has a plan, but it is hard to live out that knowledge in my everyday life. As Rob mentioned, I also noticed the reference to the oak tree that will sprout again!
Oh I have asked God 'why' so many times in my life. I always want to understand 'why' He is taking something away from me or 'why' He is causing me so much grief. Because it's all about me, ya know. :-) I analyze and break it down thinking I can figure out His reasoning. I don't want to wait. The 'how long' question scares me more than the 'why.'
Yes, Lynette the "how long" seems scarier to me, too. The opening verse reminds me of songs we sing about the Lord being high and lifted up. I remember one song "I saw the Lord, He was high and lifted up and rightfully adored. I saw the Lord and He saw me" I only heard it once and I only know that stanza but sometimes I sing it over and over. Also, the oak tree stump is similar to the stump left in King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. It was left because he would be restored after his "discovery of God" and this instance gives us a picture of God's people also being restored to Him. A few years ago, we cut down some trees but you would not know it. We failed to pull out the stumps and they are growing again.
Unfortunately “why me” is our all to common humanly answer. I honestly don't remember ever saying to God “how long” and it not be followed by something like, must I endure this or how long must I wait. Sad but true, I need to work on my responses to God. I find it much easier to do the things God asks me to do that are small and simple. I must remember Philippians 4:13 (KJV) I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
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