April 7, 2001
"And it will be said:
"Build up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."
Isaiah 57:14
The beginning part of this was a common cry heard as a noble was approaching Jerusalem in his carriage. Laborers would be sent ahead or pulled into service to remove stones from the road so that the carriage could pass through without the noble having to get out and walk. That's the understanding or the picture that the Israelite's would have in mind as they heard this... this is God's heart for them. Despite their sin and where they were at... this is God's heart for them. He looks at them(and us!) with the respect, care and concern that commoners had for noblemen!! God's love for us isn't dependent on who we are, what we've have or have not done or even what we're capable of. God loves us because we are his... he wants the best for us and he continually works in our lives to ensure that we can make our way to him.
For this is what the high and lofty One says--
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15
What stands out to me in this passage is that though God is above us he wants to be with us. He is pure, perfect, sinless, lacking nothing... he lives in a place we can barely understand yet he also CHOOSES to live with us when we are humble and broken before him. He is above us yet he never looks down on us, he is never condescending toward us and he is never impatient with us. Instead as verse 16 points out he knows that the spirit of man can only handle so much and he never takes us beyond that limit. What he does do is revive our spirits. He is the one who works in us, he imparts spiritual life to us, he breathes life into us continually and especially in our weak moments. He is the one who comforts and strengthens and ultimately refreshes us!