Keep Me Rightside Up!

“Astonish yourselves and be astonished;
    blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not with wine;
    stagger, but not with strong drink!
For the Lord has poured out upon you
    a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
    and covered your heads (the seers).

“And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, ‘Read this,’ he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’  And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, ‘Read this,’ he says, ‘I cannot read.’

“And the Lord said:
‘Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
therefore, behold, I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.’

“Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
    whose deeds are in the dark,
    and who say, ‘Who sees us? Who knows us?’
You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
    ‘He did not make me’;..
    ‘He has no understanding’?

“Is it not yet a very little while
    until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
    and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
In that day the deaf shall hear
    the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
    the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
    and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel…

“They will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.” Isaiah 29:9-19,23b-24

How inverted the thinking and subversive the ways of man left to himself! Exerting himself against the knowledge and ways of God he has no idea that God rules and will not be fooled. Upside down is distorted as normal. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Yet still God mercifully woos. He speaks His word to uncover, convict, soften, and save. He exposes devotion as deception, haughtiness as folly. The loving God offers fresh joy and understanding for the hardest and lost. Man’s I cans become I cannots. Are we not astonished at the wonders of His love?

Where have lies and cultural pressures turned upside down our moral thinking, attitudes, and behavior? What excuses and alibis do we attempt as defenses against pride, rebellion, foolish decisions, and repeated sin habits? What keeps us from meekly acknowledging our Maker, and asking Him to redirect our wandering tendencies to rightly, genuinely, wholly exalt His name?

“He rules the world with truth and grace
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness
and wonders of his love.” ~Isaac Watts (1719)

Lord, may I never stray in spirit but remain in awe of You, influenced and directed in all things by Your wonder and truth.