THE LORD SPOKE (September 29)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Isaiah 30-31

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.... How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. (Isaiah 30:18-19)

God wants to bless us! So enough of our pleading with Him to do so. The God of the Universe is trying to find ways to be gracious to us. God actually rises - gets up off His throne - to show us He cares! There’s not even any need to say, “please” - though that’s okay and it’s still quite right to say, “Thank you.” It’s our own sin that withholds good things from us (Ps. 84:11).

What does this text (Is. 30) tell us about how we should follow through on this?

Is. 30:1 - stop being obstinate
Is. 30:2 - stop looking to the wrong things for your help
Is. 30:9 - listen to the Lord’s instruction
Is. 30:11 - allow yourself to be confronted by the Holy One
Is. 30:15 - repent and trust in Him for your strength
Is. 30:21 - listen to the Voice that is directing you (Remember: this is not some Mystical Impression - it is the Word of God, i.e. Scripture!)
Is. 30:22 - destroy any idols you’ve let take His place

Somehow we’ve come up with the idea that we have to plead with God for His showers of blessing. As a consequence, when it begins to sprinkle a little bit, we think that’s as good as it gets. By the way, did you notice? None of this has anything to do with high gas prices, a falling economy, or the crash of the stock market. On second thought...maybe it does. Will it take that for us to finally trust Him?


Psalms 25-26

The 22 verses in Psalm 25 form an acrostic using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet to begin each verse. Like Psalm 119, where each succeeding letter of the alphabet gets eight verses, this psalm shows a word craftsman at work. He is identified in the superscription. David, the shepherd, was a master in using words to exalt the Lord.

English seems to lose something in the translation, but here’s an attempt to internalize this psalm in the acrostic tradition:

All that is in me is for You, O Lord,
Because You alone are the one I trust.
Cause me to overcome my own weaknesses and
Do not let me bring shame upon Your name.
Excuses will have no place with me,
For my every hope is in You.
Guide me in the way I should go;
Hear my prayer, forgive my sin, and
Instruct me in the way You have chosen for me.
Just as You have done for others, help me to
Keep the demands of Your covenant.
Let me learn to fear You properly;
May I experience the blessing of Your gracious provision.
Never let me get my eyes off of You
Or lose my perspective for that which has real value.
Pardon my many failures and please be
Quick to forgive my sin.
Rescue me from myself and
Save me from all that would pull me down.
To You alone I turn for help;
Unto You do I go for my daily strength.
Vitalize my walk with You in such a way that
We may live in constant communion.
EXamine all my ways that I might
Yield to You in full submission and may
Zeal for You consume me always. Amen.