Getting Priorities Right

I was doing some washing today and I saw a piece of scripture on one of them with the following passage on it, from Isaiah:

Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

(Isaiah 1:17-20. New King James Version [NKJV])

It’s a piece of scripture I know well. It’s one that really fires up my spirit. It reminds me of that well-known passage in Micah, too:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

(Micah 6:8, NKJV)

The two aren’t, of course, necessarily linked, though they are both passages that are used when people talk about justice – whatever “justice” is, which is not something I am intending to open up right now, because it would take some time. But right now, those two pieces of scripture speak one thing to me: simplicity.

We spend so much time arguing about theology, who has seen the biggest miracles and “looking the part” that we forget what the Lord requires of us. Of course He doesn’t want us to have bad theology, but what He really desires is a people who are after His heart. Theology has its place, but loving mercy, walking humbly with God and having a genuinely compassionate and serving heart towards others – that’s what He really wants!

 

Soaring Like Eagles

The following passage from the Old Testament is one that I have read frequently over the last few weeks:

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energises those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

(Isaiah 40:27-31, The Message)

Sometimes recently, although I’ve probably not spoken it out or actively thought it, I think I have lived wondering if God has lost track of me. I know He hasn’t, but sometimes, when things are going against you, it feels like you could have been forgotten. It’s easy to fall in to that trap. I know from my own life that I am quick to complain as soon as things start to go against me.

But that’s the point. Sometimes things go against us. That is the nature of this world. The world changes, but God doesn’t. He is unchanging. He is everlasting. He doesn’t come, and He doesn’t go. He is always there.

He gives me strength when I run out. When I have nothing left, he carries me forward. I keep a busy life, and I do lots of things, but eventually, I run out of steam and I need God to carry me through. That was the case today. That was the case yesterday. And He did – he carried me through. Some may see me as in my ‘prime’, but it doesn’t make me infallible. Far from it. I just makes it a bigger shock when I faint on the floor, exhausted.

But instead of constantly striving to achieve, to do, to pursue, I need to focus my eyes more simply. I need to pursue – but not for earthly gain. I need to pursue God. I need pursue His presence and in that time, as I wait on Him, he will give me all the strength I need to fulfil His purposes for my life. As I wait for Him to fill me up and to provide for my every need that He sees I have, I will fulfil His plans for me. I will soar like an eagle for Him. I will not lag behind. I will be at the forefront of the battle He wants me fighting, to live a life worthy to Him, to take His message to others, to make disciples of all nations – however He wants that to look in my life.