Isaiah 42, 43: I know it sounds crazy, but the Old Testament characters are like old friends to me. I have read their stories so often that it is as though I know them. Isaiah is one of those that you can just hear the pleading in his voice for his people to return to the God of their Fathers. He longed for obedience yet knew that the only way they would return would be by divine miracle. Listen to what he wrote
Isaiah 43:18 “Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.”
Oh how we need to face this truth as well. We can’t do it our old way. We must stop, turn back to Him and walk right in His paths. We too need that way in the wilderness and that river in the desert. We too need to turn before it is too late. I am not speaking of the nation at large, but the church, those of us who know and have experienced His power. May we all draw hear to Him with a whole heart and realize that friendship with the world (lustful desires) makes us at odds with God. Its time for a self evaluation and a drawing near to God. May we all pray for revival in our local church and community.