Prayer week at Christ Community Church has required something of me (and all those who participate). It’s a sacrifice to turn around from a busy day at work and seek after the still small voice of God speaking in the quiet, at church, with others (even more so this introvert). I think it’s a little picture of the kind of sacrifice that Isaiah 58 talks about. And that was the focus for this week. This powerful chapter is one I’ve thought about often in this journey with the Lord, as it chronicles a struggle I can understand, and a promise that I rest and delight and hope in.
Who of us has never fallen into the entrapping comfort of religious activity, the opposite of true Spirituality? Isn’t it easier to decide how we will serve God, rather than paying attention to that still small voice that calls us to sacrificially love? Isn’t it easier to stay in comfort zones, rather then depend on the very Spirit of God for enablement? Isn’t easier to “fake it until you make it”, rather than acknowledge our brokenness and inadequacies? At best, such activity is rooted in ignorance or immaturity. At worst, it reveals our desire to master over, rule over, and manipulate God Himself. In essence these are means through which the worshipper seeks to be worshipped by God.
As the saying goes, you can fool some of the people some of the time. But God is not mocked. There are times when he gives us what we desire, despite our motives. And sometimes He gives us the gift of being convicted by the Holy Spirit. When He really wants to bless us, He conforms our hearts to His desires. In His kindness, God is not shy in letting us know what he requires:
let loose the bonds of wickedness
undo the straps of the yoke
let the oppressed go free
break every yoke
share your bread with the hungry
bring the homeless into your house
cover the naked
don’t avoid needs of your own family (my interpretation of “not hiding from own flesh”)
In another place, this has been summarized as: “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
Easy? No. Sacrificial? Yes!
If we manipulate God or man into giving us what we think we want, we might get our way. But we will miss out on the better promise!
The promise of live giving water for our own souls. And the privilege of having enough to give to others. Despite being in desert lands, we will be provided for. (The secret is not to expect God to change our circumstances.) There is a promise that all creation will be restored, and a time is coming when thorns in the flesh will bear no discomfort, and disease of any kind will have no effect on us. But that time is not yet. There are times when God intervenes in the natural order of things. And those are glorious times. My soul would despair if I did not see glimpses of the Lord’s hand at work in the land of the living!
The promise is available to those who lay down their pride. It’s for those who humbly submit to the rhythms of God’s prescription for work and rest and know that they are not God. It is for those who lay aside playing in mud puddles and instead choose to delight in the glorious works of the Lord. This, is when we will rise on wings like eagles. This, is where we can find bread that others know not of.
During Thursday’s prayer night I pondered if there is a connection between Esther and this section of Isaiah. I ended up reading 1 Peter, which was written to believers in exile. It struck me that, just like Esther and her people, we are also in exile. Often our efforts in American Christianity have been to win a culture war, even though God never commanded us to conquer that particular land. The two verses that stood out to me the most were:
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” (2:16)
“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (4:19)
The culture may seek to dictate many things, the freedom we have in the Lord is to be used to serve Him, not to pursue what pleases the flesh. And when we suffer, we should not cease to do good works, but rather trust God to enable us and make us into life-giving, well watered gardens, bearing fruit in and out of season.
At the end of Esther, when the Jews in exile are released to exact some relief for their suffering, three times the Word says, “and they laid no hand on the plunder” (chapter 9 verses: 10, 15, 16). I believe the Lord is saying to those who are suffering and toiling in exile, “don’t seek personal profit, don’t seek false treasures that will rot, decay and burn.”
Therefore, let us put off the chords that easily entangle and trust God to turn the parched land of our lives into a well-watered garden. Let us no longer pursue empty religious manipulations. Rather, filled with the Holy Spirit, let us press into the hard places, let us purse the people who may take more than we think we have to give. Let us not rely on broken cisterns to water our gardens. Let us trust that the Lord will give light, and guidance, guarding with His very presence.
Anja Staten 