STOP DOING WRONG!

Isaiah 1:16-17a (TNIV) “… wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!”

Isaiah’s admonishment to Israel is quite clear and even rings true today. We still live lives that are displeasing to God in many ways, sometimes out of ignorance to His word. God is not restrictive, although many see Him as such. He happens to know us better than we could ever know ourselves and knows what will benefit us the most and bring us the most contentment in life. We don’t want to be told how to live, so we strain at the leash, even as Christians. We need to surrender to the will of God for our lives. As we delve into God’s scriptures, we begin to wash ourselves in His truth and education ourselves in His ways. If we do this with an open mind, we will slowly begin to realize that He is only trying to spare us heartache and pain.

As a parent we can be frustrated by our children. We want so much to spare them some of the pain we have experienced through the trial and error that was our life to that point. We didn’t listen to our parents either, so it shouldn’t seem so strange that our children don’t listen to us, but it is strange to us. We don’t understand why they won’t listen to our “wisdom”.  This is how it is with God, only He is not surprised by our ignorance. He knows us all too well and understands that we are but dust and to dust we shall return some day. He created us with a free will to do as we please. Why did He do that? Because He wanted us to praise and worship Him not out of requirement, but because we wanted to.

Nike had a slogan that was quite prevalent in our society for many years:  JUST DO IT!  Well, this is what Isaiah is telling us in these verses. STOP DOING WRONG! You were born with a sense of right and wrong. Stop doing that which only hurts you and those around you. LEARN to do right. How do we learn to do right? God’s word is, among many other things, a guide book. It has life lessons. It teaches us, if we let it, how to act and react to any given situation. It can infuse us with peace and contentment. It can cause hope to grow within our hearts in spite of our circumstances. We learn that God is no respecter of persons, meaning what He did for those in Bible times He will most assuredly do for you. You are His child. He loves you without conditions.  He wants only that which is good for you and wishes no pain to come to you. We feel that we know better and go wandering off on our little rabbit trails, seeking that which we feel will meet some imagined need. God does not condemn us for this. He allows it so we can learn through doing what is truly best for us. He would have loved for us to avoid that self-inflicted pain, but will not stop us from stumbling on our own.  It is part of the growing process.

Proverbs nails it when it says “there is a way that seems right to a man, but whose end is destruction”*.  God knows all about everything. We do not. It is that simple. It is at THAT point that God can mold us and make us all we can be IN Him. When we realize, perhaps for the first time, that we are NOT in control of anything, then we will begin to grow. Are we living for ourselves or for others? Does our own well being mean more to us than anything else in this world or are we more centered on being a blessing to those around us? The whole concept of faith and trust is realized when an individual accepts that God will not allow those to fail who live for Him.  Surrendering to His will and way of doing things is to be our only option.  JUST DO IT!

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!

* Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25; www.biblegateway.com