Lent, Day 30: GOD HAS SOMETHING TO SAY

Scripture: Isaiah 44:1-8

Focus on the Word

God has something to say:  "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God" (Isaiah 44:6, NIV). Yes, but what kind of God is God?  Is He judgmental, hard, harsh, cruel, always looking over our shoulders to make sure we're measuring up?  Is He a God one wants to be with or a God from whom one wants to flea in fear and terror?  A few verses earlier God said, "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants" (Isaiah 44:3, NIV). So that's the kind of God, God is.  He is the God who pours out His blessings.  He is the one true God who is the first and the last, always bringing life into deadness, lavishing His creation with His grace, and blessing anyone and everyone who will take the blessing.

God is the God who is always saying to His people, "Do not fear" (Isaiah 44:2, NASB).  He is always inviting people to say, because it's true, "I am the Lord's" (Isaiah 44:5, NASB). Because of His ever-present nearness He is always saying, "Do not tremble and do not be afraid" (Isaiah 44:8, NASB).  And, then, as if to stagger our imagination, God says to His people, "You are My witnesses" (Isaiah 44:8, NASB).  

In Lent we seek the God who is already seeking us.  We remember that God is the one who has taken the initiative, not us.  We remember that He has poured out the fresh water of His Holy Spirit on the dryness of our lives.  We remember that God calls us to Himself and invites us into His life.  It is not a business arrangement.  It is a relationship, relationship in which we can relax and rest, look and live, face reality and know that God's grace is covering all. 

Our God is "the one reality that does not crumple, the one rock that will not be washed loose in the tide and onslaught of anything, the one reality that will hold firm, though the earth be destroyed and the mountains flung into the sea and the sun put out." (Emilie Griffin, Clinging: The Experience of Prayer (Harper & Row: Cambridge, 1984, page 56.)

Today’s Prayer

O Lord my God, I believe in you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Insofar as I can, insofar as you have given me the power, I have sought you. I became weary and I labored. O Lord my God, my sole hope, help me to believe and never to cease seeking you. Grant that I may always and ardently seek out your countenance….Enable me to remember you, to understand you, and to love you. Amen.     (Augustine, Late Fourth, early Fifth century)