“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” (Isaiah 10:27)
This verse brings so much hope and comfort to the people of God! This is, in historical context, referring to the Assyrians who were allowed by God to enslave the Israelites and drive them to repentance. But to the modern Christian, it foreshadows the deliverance of God for His people from the bondages and torments of Satan.
All throughout scripture there was a circular pattern of behavior in God’s people. Unfortunately, that same pattern applies oftentimes today. We are in distress or discomfort so we cry out to God. He rescues us/saves us from our enemy and places us in a good place – physically, spiritually, mentally, financially, et al. For awhile we are grateful and serve Him with gladness. The time soon comes, however, when we get comfortable and grow lax. When that happens we lose our discipline and restraint, often leaving the path of godliness to explore. This is usually accompanied by comments like, “Well, just this one little thing won’t keep me out of heaven, will it?” Or (my personal favorite), “God understands I’m only human. He’ll forgive me. I am under grace, not under the Law.”
Like I said, this applies to most, if not all, of us in our lives. It is easy when times are difficult to realize that we need God. When we are completely hopeless and directionless (lost), we cry out because we know He hears the cry of His children and He alone knows how to get us back to the Way. Ah, but it gets really hard sometimes when things are going well to remember that it is God Who gives us all blessings and the strength and abilities to obtain them. Without Him, we would be wretched, blind, poor, and banished to an eternity without Him.
In our modern world we are seeing, more and more, the downward spiral of the world’s system of operation. We are seeing sin being dismissed or even celebrated. We are blind to the simple truths in God’s Word. When He says something is sin we try to explain it away or assign it a name. We call certain things diseases that are simply sin. Period. We excuse ourselves with the lame protest: “we will never be perfect so why even try?” There are SO MANY commands of God sprinkled throughout scripture – COMMANDS. Not recommendations, not requests, not suggestions. COMMANDS. “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” “Be holy, even as He is holy.” These are just two of dozens – nay, hundreds in scripture. Yet we read them and dismiss them. They are speaking to the saints, not us.
I speak all this to my own shame, for I, too, have used the comments I quoted earlier (and others). God makes it all so simple for us if we would only listen and obey. We have become, like the Israelites of old, a sinful, rebellious, and stiffnecked people. Perhaps that is why the Bible tells us there will be another Elijah personage in the final days. It is believed that Elijah and Moses are the two witnesses identified in the Book of Revelations. We need that simple message preached by Elijah (and John the Baptist) to the people. REPENT! Repent and be cleansed. Repent and be free. Repent and be saved. REPENT!
That is my challenge to you and myself today. We need to hold our lives up to the pure, penetrating message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and allow Him to shine in our deepest, darkest places. We need to allow His Holy Spirit to sweep out the corners of our hearts and dust off the furnishings contained therein that He may take up residence in our lives full-time, not just church-time. Yield yourself to Him and be set free.
Be blessed.
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