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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
I will not accuse them forever, nor
will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of Me—the very
people I have created.
I was enraged by their sinful
greed; I punished them, and hid My face in anger, yet they kept on in their
willful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them
and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips.
“Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah 57:16-21
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
What is
the path to peace in life?
It’s a
question I think we all ponder because peace is something we all crave for. We
like to be in life situations where there is no conflict, no stress, no worry,
no fear, and no anxiety. Everything is in place and we have absolute calm and
stability.
But what
happens when things don’t go right and we are caught up in the swirling storms
of difficulty and hardship?
How do we
find peace then?
Perhaps
we can find answers in today’s scripture passage taken from the final verses of
Isaiah 57. Look again at these words of the Lord here:
I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then
they would faint away because of Me—the very people I have created.
I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid My face
in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. I have seen their ways, but I
will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating
praise on their lips.
“Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 57:16-21
Note here
that there are two categories that people are placed in: those who are
believers in God, even if they are imperfect in their belief, and those who
flat out reject God in every way, referred to here as “the wicked”.
God’s
people, the Israelites, were less than perfect people just like we are today.
They professed belief in God but still succumbed to sinfulness in the way of
worshipping idols and false gods. Of course, God was angered by this as the
actions of His people had violated His commands to not have any other gods or
idols before Him. He had told them He was a jealous God and punishment would
come on anyone who disobeyed and disrespected Him. And yet, the people tested
God and experienced His wrath and judgment in the way of a seventy year exile
to Babylon.
Doesn’t
exactly sound like a recipe for peace, right?
And yet,
the people of Israel would experience restoration and renewal, despite their
shortcomings. God was promising that they would be healed and returned to
peace.
How could
this happen? How could people who sinned against God come to peace when the wicked
would not?
It comes
down to grace and mercy and forgiveness. Those who placed their faith in God
would face His consequences if they failed Him but they also would experience
His pardon after the price had been paid for their transgressions.
As for
the wicked, they had no open window to receive God’s grace and mercy and
forgiveness because they had closed the window themselves, unwilling and not
wanting to have Him as a part of their lives. They rejected Him and in turn,
would not experience His peace.
It’s a
sad place to be, really. In a place where you have no peace. But everyone has
the same opportunity to choose whether the Lord is a part of their life or not.
Some opt
to. Some don’t. Only those who do will have peace because they have chosen to
follow the Lord who is the Prince of peace.
I pray
you are counted in that number.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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