When Near is Far

“This iniquity shall be to you
    like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
    whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
and its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel
    that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a shard is found
    with which to take fire from the hearth,
    or to dip up water out of the cistern.

“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
‘In returning and rest you shall be saved;
    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’
But you were unwilling,  and you said,
‘No! We will flee upon horses’;
    therefore you shall flee away;
and, ‘We will ride upon swift steeds’;
    therefore your pursuers shall be swift…

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
    and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
    blessed are all those who wait for him.

“For a people shall dwell in Zion..; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see [him]. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, ‘Be gone!’

“And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures, and the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork.” Isaiah 30:13-16,18-24

The prophet exposes the truth about those who feigned devotion and pretended at righteousness while serving as their own gods. While the Lord was near with open arms, His people insisted on making their own way, their hearts far from Him. In mercy He spoke: only the meek would know His joy, only the redeemed would sanctify the Lord, yet they settled for fruitless effort. He would give understanding and the will to accept instruction if only they would return.

How often and in what situations do we drift from the Lord and rely on ourselves? We might proclaim that He’s all-wise, and we trust Him, yet in daily concerns we fret. We become so accustomed to making our own way, asking for blessing rather than guidance, that we cannot see the crack in our protection. We take responsibility for every battle, every decision of our children, every need in the workplace, and forget who it is we serve, who has the rightful throne. In our self-imposed adversity, God waits to be gracious.

Would we take time to assess how near we really are to the Lord? Does profession match action? What idols need we banish? What instruction are we hearing? Where have we experienced His mercy applied? Drawing near to the Lord is the place of soul rest and abundance.

Father, draw and keep me near, to the praise of Your mercy.