 |
| image by pipp |
by Kaysi Hastings
I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, "Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely."
And he became their Savior.
In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, "Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely."
And he became their Savior.
In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Isaiah 63:7-9
Steadfast love. Great goodness. Compassion. Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of the Lord here that reveals His deep love for His people. His love is not empty affection. He feels what His people feel, and it moves Him to action, leading Him to save and redeem and lift and carry them. But tucked within these descriptions is another statement that might catch us off guard if we paused for a moment to consider its implications. "For he said, 'Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.'"
What we see here is a sense of expectation, and it's not the sort of demanding expectation that suggests, "You will do this or else." On the contrary, there's a sense that God trusts His people to act with integrity. I think this is a little different from the image our focus on man's depravity often conjures up of how God views His people. I think most of us are a little more accustomed to thinking of God sitting back in His armchair waiting for the moment we will inevitably screw things up before He sighs and steps in to clean up our mess. But this statement quoted by Isaiah suggests perhaps we may be more resigned to our fallen state than God Himself is.
One of my favorite bands, Needtobreathe, sings a song in which various statements associated with such a sense of resignation ("I can't help but feel I'm on an island born to sink;" "We can't change, it's who we are;" "Say the truth will set you free, but it won't for me") are interspersed with the line, "Devil's been talkin'." I've often thought this was a very insightful way of looking at such patterns of thinking. Perhaps an inappropriately low view of humanity produced by an overemphasis on total depravity and a failure to remember men and women are created in the image of a loving God has led us to abandon our expectations that our lives could represent anything other than brokenness, but our Lord here seems to believe otherwise.
To be sure, we are still broken. But if we've truly acknowledged Jesus as Lord, we are also being transformed. Jesus' life on earth demonstrated what human life modeled after the overwhelmingly loving God Isaiah described might look like. And His Spirit living in the hearts of those who have submitted their lives to Him empowers us to follow in His footsteps. Now more than ever God has made it possible for us to live as "children who will not deal falsely." Maybe the ideas we buy into that suggest we'll never be anything more than lowly sinners are coming from our enemy, as Needtobreathe's song proposes. Maybe it's time we considered the words of our Father and shifted our perspective.
Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.
Have you ever known someone who was perpetually critical and always seemed to expect you to fail? How did this affect your confidence/performance? Have you conversely ever known someone who seemed to consistently believe in your abilities and/or in you as a person? How did this affect your confidence/performance? Are you more motivated to please God when you think of Him as standing by ready to engage discipline when you fail or as watching over you with the belief you have the capacity through Him to do something good?
Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.
Abba, thank You for Your extravagant love that incredibly still recognizes Your image in us in spite of our fractured humanity. Give us discernment to recognize when our enemy is filling our minds with a false sense of defeat, and instead help us to listen to Your Spirit as He leads us into lives of love and integrity.
May Your love cause us to open up
Cause us to open up our hearts
May Your light cause us to shine so bright
That we bring hope into the dark
-The Brilliance
Cause us to open up our hearts
May Your light cause us to shine so bright
That we bring hope into the dark
-The Brilliance
No comments:
Post a Comment