Isaiah 64:4-6 NKJV
4 For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
Who is like our Lord; righteous and Holy. You pour out Your favor upon Your own. You act for us! We cannot even fathom the height, width and depth of Your love and character. There is none beside You. Awesome in power and righteousness. To whom else can we go as Your’s are the words of eternal life.
Which path do you follow? Are you familiar enough with God’s way to know the path He has ordained for you? Do you seek His counsel to decipher the way you should go? When you walk the road God has chosen for you, He will make your paths straight. In the center of His will are peace, grace and love. God intentionally acts for your benefit. He cares for His own. Are you His own?
We get to choose our way. God created us and gave us free will. We can choose to love Him or not. Choosing to love and follow Him means He will act for you. When I was younger, I felt a lack of support as if I didn’t measure up to the standards. Because of that, I think I over compensated acting as if I was better that I actually was. Then, I did not realize that every good thing comes from God. I thought it was all up to me. At fourteen, I claimed to have reached the apex of perfection. That was what I needed to do to boost my ego. I was unaware that, apart from God, we can do nothing. Now, I understand who I am. My righteousness is like filthy rags. But I also understand whose I am. In Him, I am holy, righteous and redeemed. Jesus covers me in His righteousness as a garment by the sacrifice of His life for mine. He died that I may live! And what a life it is. Old Bob was in charge. If it was to be, it was up to me. New Bob is along for the most glorious ride. I have a life of peace, joy, grace and compassion. There are still challenges along the way though.
Some years ago, as a devotional introduction to a Church meeting, we broke down into pairs and were to ask each other this question several times trying to draw out the deeper meaning. Our question was “What would it grieve you to have to give up to follow Christ?” I was the one to ask my partner the question first. She gave a long list of things like home, education and other things. I had a chance to think about this while it was her turn. By the time my turn came, I had clarity. The Spirit had spoken to me. There was nothing I would grieve because everything I have is from Him. He gave me every good thing in my life. You see, even when I was not fully aware of God, His hand was still on me and in my life! My God was acting for me. He always has and I see that when I look back. Looking forward is scary. But when you look back and see all the things He has already done for you in the past, it gives you courage and assurance that He walks with you and cares for you. You can walk boldly into the future, knowing the Creator of the universe goes before you making the crooked places straight and acting in your best interest in every situation whether you see Him or not.
Lord God, thank You that You act for the one who waits for You! Let us be those who love and serve You. May we walk with you as You lead us in the path You have ordained us to walk. Let us know You are with us when we are frightened. Guide us with your righteous right hand. Help us to bring glory and honor to Your holy name we pray. Amen!