The Lord Be With You Today!
Isaiah 59:11-12a
We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves.
(Isaiah is describing what the Lord hears from His people,
a growling that in Hebrew refers to a low-pitched murmuring and groaning
and the lamenting sound of the dove's call, both indicating deep pain,
The people are complaining that the Lord is not answering their prayers
to come to their aid and to release them from their harsh conditions.
At times, our lament sounds like the fierce growl of a bear,
and, at other times, like the plaintive complaint of a dove.
In either case, Israel, like us, often protested
against what they perceived as God's lack of justice and unresponsiveness toward them,
obviously overlooking their own failure to repent and obey Him.)
We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
(Despondent, afraid, we, too, may feel we have been forgotten by God.
We hope that He will vindicate us, but we remain in difficult situations
over which we have no control and forget what the Lord requires of us
in terms of obedience and purity and devotion to Him.)
For our offenses are many in Your sight, and our sins testify against us.
(Yet, finally, when we have no other place to turn, when our backs are against the wall,
when the Lord finally allows us to experience the full impact of our choices,
we are forced to look inward at our own motives and actions and attitudes.
Today, without His grace toward us, His mercy, we remain helpless and guilty
before the righteous standards of God's holiness and His holy purposes for us.
Yet today, He offers us yet again and again His forgiveness,
His salvation, His provision, His pardon, and His redemption.)
May the Lord richly bless you this day!
In Christ's love,
Blessings!
Sally
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