Praying Isaiah 30

At our first meeting, and then again at our most recent, the Holy Spirit directed us to Isaiah 30. I was meditating on it this morning and was struck by how sobering it was. So much could be said about this chapter, and indeed the succeeding 5 chapters, but my focus started at verse 18.

It reads, Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! To which we might respond, "Yes Lord, that's what we want to hear." It continues in v19 in a much similar tone: O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Isn't that what we want to know? Isn't that praiseworthy? We like to camp a while at such scriptures.

But it is the next verse that is so crucial. We are almost amazed to read at v20, which begins: Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction... what's that? While we may find it to be out of character for the Lord to put us on a diet of adversity and affliction, it isn't. Why would "the good Lord" want to do a thing like that to us? What did he just now get through saying? Well, we shouldn't be so surprised. It is very much like him to do such a thing. It is part of his process for bringing much needed discipline into our lives. It is the process by which he turns flabby into fit, wishful into watchful, victims into victors, and wimps into warriors.

Verse 20 continues magnificently (as in the NASB), ...He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Wow! Isn't that powerful?! Saints, when your find yourself on a diet of adversity and affliction, LOOK UP, open your eyes! You are about to behold the LORD your Redeemer in a whole new light and with fresh love and appreciation!

And in that refinded condition, v21 tells us Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,"This is the way; walk in it." Nothing is so precious as divine direction--especially when you really don't know where you're going. Notice that regardless of what path we might be taking at the time, in that refined, disciplined condition, we'll hear that clear, unmistakable voice of the Lord directing us how to make the correct course adjustment.

Finally, here's what the Lord instructs us we'll be able to do as a result. And this next verse is precisely where God gave us laser focus at our last prayer meeting. V22: Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstural cloth and say to them, "Away with you!" Now if you don't realize it already, we have idols in our lives that need to be thrown out! God said so then and he is saying so ever so forcefully, "Church! Remove the idols from your lives and worship him and him alone!" It is perhaps the clarion call of the hour for the Church. We have adapted so much of the world into our worship and church government that we can hardly recognize a church service from an Amway meeting. We've preached success principles over sanctification. We're familiar with wholistic, but not holiness. We've elevated superstars rather than servants.

And idolatry has filled the house. But these verses tell me that all of the discipline and chastening the Lord has been dishing out to so many of his choicest saints has been with a divine purpose. He has been readying us to clean out all of our idols--to throw them out like "a menstrual cloth" (can it get any clearer than that?) and to embrace him above all else!

Its time for the Church to clean house!!