We could easily be overcome by the woes in the book of Isaiah unless we continually focus on these words…
Isaiah 1:18: Come now, and let us reason together. . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.
Here God is inviting His people to meet with Him, to know Him, the Great I AM, the God who warns us to choose wisely desiring to heal and not to punish.
We can know Him in four different areas, each of which demands a response from us either of willingness and obedience or of rebellion and disobedience.
We can know Him
* Through His justice, judgements meant to move us towards Him and towards repentance for our sins. The question: Will we offer to Him the sins of our life?
* In His amazing holiness that He maintains and shares with us through His grace and His mercy, the unearned supernatural power imparted to us to change and our not getting what we do deserve for our sins respectively. The question: Will we repent, turning away from our sinful behaviors?
* Through His Presence, an intimate relationship we are to share, enjoy, and grow in each day. The question: Are we really hungry for Him or for the things of this present world?
* Through the healing and salvation He has made available to all mankind. He has commissioned us to go into the world and reconcile mankind to Him. The question: Is there anyone that He is calling us to bring to Him?
The situations and sins of Isaiah’s times mirror those in our own. And the question to us is the same as it was to the Israelites…
Will we come and meet with the Lord and allow Him to heal us through repentance and obedience or will we choose to suffer the consequences?
Pat Hein