Isaiah 55:6-9
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'”
Having a practical nature, I usually try to consider spiritual reality on the basis of illustrations which provide meaning. Consider two fleas on a huge Saint Bernard dog trying to describe to the other the vastness of their world. Not only have they never been off the dog, they have never ventured beyond the dog’s hind leg. There is no way they could do it!
We are very much like those two fleas. We can talk a good talk and argue a good case for our view of things, but we have never seen the whole picture. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes our limitations as, “- – looking through a glass darkly,” the NIV interprets it, “- – we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror.” We are limited by our human knowledge or lack of it.
I once heard a sermon by Dr. W. A. Criswell of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. I cannot for the life of me recall the sermon, but I do recall an illustration. He was trying to illustrate the heart of deceitful man, and to show how we will go to great lengths to appear smarter than we really are. Here is his illustration:
Two drunks in a bar were arguing over anything that came to mind. They eventually came to the topic of religion and began a loud boisterous debate over which of them was the most religious. In utter frustration, Bill said to Fred, “You don’t know anything about the Bible! I will bet you $10 that you can’t recite the Lord’s Prayer!” Fred stared back through an alcoholic haze and said, “I’ll take that bet! Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.'” Bill stared at him in amazement, reached in his billfold for a $10 bill, gave it to Fred and replied, “I had no idea you knew it!”
Oh how sad the lack of knowledge about God and His ways. We can bluff our way past those who have even less knowledge of the Bible than we do, but God knows all about us. There is no way we can fool Him. He knows every thought before we think it and every word before it comes from our lips. That fact should sober us to the reality of cleaning up our act and preparing our heart so that we are acceptable in His sight.
Isaiah was inspired by God to reveal to us the fact that our ways are far removed from His ways and our thoughts from His thoughts. Isaiah urges us to seek God when He may be found and to call upon Him while he is near. There will come a time when it will be too late. The Lord may come at any moment. Then it will be too late to go to Him for mercy. An accident or sudden health incident can prevent our brain from functioning. Then it will be too late to call upon His name. Our hearts can become so callous to the prompting of the Holy Spirit that we are spiritually deaf. Then it is too late to seek the Lord.
I can recall as though it was yesterday, being in the last service of an old time camp meeting. I was sitting with a group of teens, one of which was my cousin, Wayne. Across the aisle from us sat his Dad. We could see tears rolling down his Dad’s cheeks. Wayne and I walked over to him and begged him to go forward and give his heart to the Lord while there was still time. He shook his head and you could almost see him dig his heels in. He made no move, and the service ended without him responding.
That was the last time anyone could remember him showing a softness toward God. His life on this earth ended in hardness of heart and bitterness of soul. Sad, sad the bitter wail, almost, but lost. We need to draw near to God, not only for salvation, but for peace and usefulness. What change is needed in your life? Make it now!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil