The truth about sin.
Isaiah ministers to a people who have continued to live in sin while blaming God for the effects of that sin in their lives.
Isaiah writes: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." Isaiah 59:1-2
Let me preface this by saying that not every issue we experience in life is caused by sin. There are seasons of testing that the Lord allows to deepen our faith and draw our hearts closer to Him. But are we willing to lay our hearts open before the Lord and allow Him to reveal any sin that may be present in our lives?
When Isaiah writes, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God," we need to understand what he means by "separation."
As believers, we are never outside of the Lord's presence. But sin can disrupt our fellowship with Him. It can hinder our communion with the Lord and keep us from experiencing the fullness of the blessings and benefits that flow from walking closely with Him.
Often, we want to blame God for what seems like His quietness, the lack we experience, or the void we feel when we aren't seeing His love at work in our lives.
But what if the issue isn't that God has moved?
What if we are holding onto our sin more tightly than we are holding onto our Savior?
Today, would you take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any sin in your life? And when He does, would you be willing to confess it, release it, and repent?
May we have pure hearts before the Lord and before others today.
Father, refresh and renew our hearts before You. Search us, reveal anything that keeps us from walking closely with You, and give us the grace to confess, release, and repent. Amen.
-To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.