Being Led by God
When God leads His people (or His child) to walk with him, it seems to begin in repentance and ends with great rejoicing!
Isa 30 is about an obstinate and rebellious nation
Is. 30:1 “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the LORD,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.
God allows hardship to come their way (see v6-8) and eventually their sin becomes their destruction (v12-14) But when the Lord speaks it is for their rescue and redemption, but it starts with repentance
Is. 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
And ultimately He longs to show His compassion and grace
Is. 30:19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
Walking by faith with God takes me to the edge of my life and relationship with Him. It is there, in that walk with Him, that I ‘see’ the clearest. It might seem the opposite, for I may not know the direction I am going, but I truly ‘see’ what is important & true and what is not. Walking with God demands that I trust Him and will respond to His voice.
In comfort and ease idols are discovered, built, acquired and regarded. The Israelites were so comfortable they even had the time and resource to decorate their idols with silver and gold. The Israelites are not the only ones who have idols, for I can have them too. The idol can be anything that becomes a substitute for God in my heart and mind.
It is when my life becomes comfortable that idols begin to spring up. When I have time on my hands or whenever my attention is captivated on one thing or another, the distractions seem to always lead to idolatry - like the old saying “an idle mind is the devils playground”. Our minds are never idle for long, for an idol is always within reach.
Idolatry always dulls my ability to hear God’s voice. Idolatry divides my heart and steals my desire to respond to my Lord. When I don’t hear from and respond to the Lord, that is when my heart becomes ‘dead’ to Him. Idols are nothing and they will lead me to nothingness.
It is through the pain and difficulties of life that God is able to identify my idols and the ways I have placed my trust in other things, and even myself, for yes, I can become my own idol. It is when life comes crashing down that I am ready to turn to the Father in true repentance and experience HIs compassion and grace. Through the tears of repentance, my heart is softened. Through the anguish of repentance the patterns of my mind are broken. Once again, I can hear His voice again, I can ‘see’ clearly again.
Now I can ‘see’ that which is more important than the direction my life is going. I can see, and hear the voice of my God who is leading me. My relationship with Him is more important than the directions or accumulations of my life, because He is my life.
Then, this passage says, we ‘defile our idols’ - we intentionally make them ‘unclean’, something VERY undesirable. I ‘see’ them for what they truly are and I dispose of them like they were a ‘menstrual cloth’. I treat the things I once considered very valuable as though they were despicable garbage, which is what they are. Not only do I throw them away, but I speak against them in my life with the attitude of a curse.
Now, the Lord begins to truly bless His children, those who walk with Him (v23-26). He brings abundance and goodness into their lives. He restores them and leads His children to know Him and walk in His ways - and it is good.
Being Led by God begins in repentance and results in rejoicing but always demands going to the edge of life and trusting Him. We walk and live with Him by faith, for He is just as interested in how you get where ever you go as He is in where you end up - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isa 30 is about an obstinate and rebellious nation
Is. 30:1 “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the LORD,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.
God allows hardship to come their way (see v6-8) and eventually their sin becomes their destruction (v12-14) But when the Lord speaks it is for their rescue and redemption, but it starts with repentance
Is. 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
And ultimately He longs to show His compassion and grace
Is. 30:19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
Walking by faith with God takes me to the edge of my life and relationship with Him. It is there, in that walk with Him, that I ‘see’ the clearest. It might seem the opposite, for I may not know the direction I am going, but I truly ‘see’ what is important & true and what is not. Walking with God demands that I trust Him and will respond to His voice.
In comfort and ease idols are discovered, built, acquired and regarded. The Israelites were so comfortable they even had the time and resource to decorate their idols with silver and gold. The Israelites are not the only ones who have idols, for I can have them too. The idol can be anything that becomes a substitute for God in my heart and mind.
It is when my life becomes comfortable that idols begin to spring up. When I have time on my hands or whenever my attention is captivated on one thing or another, the distractions seem to always lead to idolatry - like the old saying “an idle mind is the devils playground”. Our minds are never idle for long, for an idol is always within reach.
Idolatry always dulls my ability to hear God’s voice. Idolatry divides my heart and steals my desire to respond to my Lord. When I don’t hear from and respond to the Lord, that is when my heart becomes ‘dead’ to Him. Idols are nothing and they will lead me to nothingness.
It is through the pain and difficulties of life that God is able to identify my idols and the ways I have placed my trust in other things, and even myself, for yes, I can become my own idol. It is when life comes crashing down that I am ready to turn to the Father in true repentance and experience HIs compassion and grace. Through the tears of repentance, my heart is softened. Through the anguish of repentance the patterns of my mind are broken. Once again, I can hear His voice again, I can ‘see’ clearly again.
Now I can ‘see’ that which is more important than the direction my life is going. I can see, and hear the voice of my God who is leading me. My relationship with Him is more important than the directions or accumulations of my life, because He is my life.
Then, this passage says, we ‘defile our idols’ - we intentionally make them ‘unclean’, something VERY undesirable. I ‘see’ them for what they truly are and I dispose of them like they were a ‘menstrual cloth’. I treat the things I once considered very valuable as though they were despicable garbage, which is what they are. Not only do I throw them away, but I speak against them in my life with the attitude of a curse.
Now, the Lord begins to truly bless His children, those who walk with Him (v23-26). He brings abundance and goodness into their lives. He restores them and leads His children to know Him and walk in His ways - and it is good.
Being Led by God begins in repentance and results in rejoicing but always demands going to the edge of life and trusting Him. We walk and live with Him by faith, for He is just as interested in how you get where ever you go as He is in where you end up - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Comments
Penny James