Readings for today: Isaiah 54-58
What do you aspire to? What kind of person do you want to be? What do you want be known for? When I was a teenager, I wanted to be known as a success. I wanted to be known as smart so I worked hard in school. I wanted to be known as athletic so I worked hard in sports. I wanted to be known as a good person so I went to church and got my Eagle Scout. Sure, I got a lot of accolades but they faded fast. I realized all my trophies and awards would just get thrown into a box and gather dust. When I got to college, I wanted to be popular. I attended all the parties. I hit on all the girls. I drank just about every drop of alcohol offered to me. I guess there were moments where I believed I was having a great time but my life was cratering fast. I had no real friends. I was flunking out of school. Everything I had worked so hard to achieve was crashing down around me. After I became I a Christian, I wanted to be holy. I wanted to prove myself to God and to everyone around me. I worked hard at my faith. I read my Bible everyday. I prayed regularly. I went to church every week. I went to seminary and got trained to be a pastor. I served in several ministries early in my career, always taking on the more difficult challenges. But I soon found myself burning out. Struggling to find any joy. I went to a counselor and he asked me, “Who are you trying to impress?” It was a question that rocked me to my core. It brought me face to face with my spiritual poverty. It forced me to confront my pride and insecurity. And it was during this season of wrestling with God that these words from Isaiah first hit home. What does the Lord require of me? What does the Lord want for me?
“Isn’t this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood? Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard. At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer; when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry. Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.” (Isaiah 58:6-12 CSB)
The calling of God on my life - and the lives of all who claim to be Christian - is to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness. It’s to engage the work He sets before us. Breaking the chains of sin. Lightening the load. Setting people free. Sharing our resources. Refusing to engage in slander, blame, gossip, and maliciously critical speech. Offering ourselves to help those in need. This is what it means to seek the Kingdom first. As we do these things for the Lord with a humble and willing heart, God promises to take care of our reputation. He promises to make our light shine like the dawn. He promises our righteousness will go before us and He will be our rearguard. He promises to answer us when we call and be present with us when we cry out to Him. He promises to to lead us, satisfy us, and strengthen us. He promises to make us life-givers rather than death-dealers. He will use us to rebuild, restore, and repair all that is broken.
Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays