God’s way
“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade. But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced." Isaiah 30:1-3 NLT
With the fear and anxiety becoming pervasive in our time, talks today about spirituality has risen. In a sense, this is good but true spirituality might not be what we think it is. From the text, God through Isaiah provided us an unlikely message. The only hope is our hope in God and what He calls us to do is to abandon every other hope however obvious. God is saying that the conventional wisdom of our culture which magnifies human potential thus attaining inner fullness we all desire is a panacea. We will only achieve inner and real fulfillment from outside ourselves. God is saying that our initial reaction to real spirituality might be irritation and disbelief yet He continues to direct our eyes to the One who suffered on the cross. He was the one beaten beyond recognition, rejected by the religious leaders, the elites and the opinion-shapers, and God says, “He is the Giver of the Spirit” (Isaiah 30:1): that cross of Christ is the secret to true spirituality. God does not bless our plans that will not bring glory to His name. If His salvation does not live in our hearts, we certainly add sin to sin: “You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.” We cannot fill our emptiness with our own false comforts and not allow God to fill it. Unless we allow God to fill our hearts, what we are doing will not work out: “you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced” (v. 3). The word of God is saying that God has provided us resources so that we can cope in times of trials. Let us not forget that the best-kept secrets to life are hidden for us with Christ in God. “God’s way is my only plan. I will not confound or add anything from the finished work of Christ on the cross. I will not justify myself for I know that Jesus alone can remove the guilt from my sin. If His death on the cross cannot pay for my guilt, I am doomed. If the Holy Spirit is not enough to fill my heart, then I am empty. I will not fill myself with fake substitutes. All I need, all I desire, is God’s way.”
Blessings,