Isaiah 57:17-19
“‘I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will heal them.’”
Join me in praising God for the fact that we are not in control. Lift up your voice with me and say, “Hallelujah, I am not in control!” Consider the riches of these verses, notice the difference in the result of our will and God’s. Our will results in unjust gain; the arguments won by lies, manipulation, the finances secured by generational covetousness, stinginess. And what did it earn us? A beating from Yahweh, His wrath. Our will resulted in continued rebellion in our hearts; persistent disobedience despite the same emptiness, the lack of peace due to God’s absence, the needless confusion we endure because we refuse to turn back to Him. These are the miserable fruits of our will, our controlling.
God sees, though. In His wonderful omniscience He sees the heart of man and in His majestic love declares, “I will heal him.” He’s not done though. He adds, “I will lead Him and restore comfort”, “Creating the praise of the lips” and again, “I will heal him.” He has moved us out of the driver seat, knocks us out, puts us – not in the passenger seat – but in the back, in a car seat where children belong, and leads us home. Home, where we worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Saints, rejoice that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of God’s control over our hearts. That our sinful will is not greater than the will of His grace. Oh, how we try to do good and bring healing and comfort to those around us but often don’t have the words, the money or the knowledge. God is never short in this way. Despite our iniquity if He sets His hand to heal we are healed. If He sets His eyes to bless, we are blessed. He sent His son to save and we are saved. Good news: God is in control!
The GRC Children’s Ministry is also providing a family Lenten Devotional which is available here.
Note: Each day’s devotional is written by a different member of the GRC family.