September 16
Isaiah 22:1-24:23; Galatians 2:17-3:9; Psalm 60:1-12; Proverbs 23:15-16
Everyone loves to celebrate and have a party. The joy, emotions, food, and people make for such a festive, happy environment. Yet in our passage in Isaiah, we see that celebration is not always the appropriate response to life's circumstances. We like being happy all the time, but God tells us there are moments when we need to grieve and lament. The Israelites find themselves on the verge of judgment for their sins in Isaiah 22 and yet they continue to celebrate, eat, and drink. They have refused God's loving exhortation to weep, wail, and put on sackcloth. They are ignoring their sin and God's work so they can continue in a level of ignorant bliss. This failed response only led to increased judgment, destruction, and pain.
Rather than thinking that life is about the pursuit of happiness, we must recognize it is about the pursuit of God. God is the one who can satisfy, forgive, and lead us in a life of wisdom (Prov 23:15-16). We cannot live focused on ourselves(what Paul calls setting aside grace in Galatians 2:21), but instead need to live by faith. All of life we need to "live by faith in the Son of God who loved (us) and gave himself for (us)." We need to gain his heart for our lives, our sin, other people, and all aspects of life that we might live for him.
Father God, I confess my sin before you. I confess I pursue things other than you to bring me life. Help me to grieve over my sin and turn to you. Help me to believe in you is life and submit all of me to you. Amen.
Question of the day: Why do we find it hard to lament and grieve well?
Everyone loves to celebrate and have a party. The joy, emotions, food, and people make for such a festive, happy environment. Yet in our passage in Isaiah, we see that celebration is not always the appropriate response to life's circumstances. We like being happy all the time, but God tells us there are moments when we need to grieve and lament. The Israelites find themselves on the verge of judgment for their sins in Isaiah 22 and yet they continue to celebrate, eat, and drink. They have refused God's loving exhortation to weep, wail, and put on sackcloth. They are ignoring their sin and God's work so they can continue in a level of ignorant bliss. This failed response only led to increased judgment, destruction, and pain.
Rather than thinking that life is about the pursuit of happiness, we must recognize it is about the pursuit of God. God is the one who can satisfy, forgive, and lead us in a life of wisdom (Prov 23:15-16). We cannot live focused on ourselves(what Paul calls setting aside grace in Galatians 2:21), but instead need to live by faith. All of life we need to "live by faith in the Son of God who loved (us) and gave himself for (us)." We need to gain his heart for our lives, our sin, other people, and all aspects of life that we might live for him.
Father God, I confess my sin before you. I confess I pursue things other than you to bring me life. Help me to grieve over my sin and turn to you. Help me to believe in you is life and submit all of me to you. Amen.
Question of the day: Why do we find it hard to lament and grieve well?
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