July 31, 2018
He repeats himself. That’s important. When Linda wants to make sure I am hearing her correctly, she either repeats herself or makes me recite exactly what she has said. She knows me. God does, too, which I suspect is why when he says in Isaiah 65:12, “When I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear,” he repeats himself in the fourth verse of the very next chapter. In the 55th chapter, he asserted that his hand is not shortened so it cannot save, nor his ear heavy so it cannot hear, but that it is our sins that have separated us from him.
Preaching is in many respects easier with the passing of the years. Experience has its advantages, after all. Christian living however, never gets easier, never gets to the point where we can sit back and coast. Like kings of old, always someone is lurking in the shadows probing for a weakness to exploit (things haven’t changed much in the halls of power), hoping to topple the one on the throne. With age often comes perceived weakness, so the battle continues, and holding onto power requires constant vigilance. I cannot afford to relax and coast, giving the Enemy of my soul a weakness to exploit and toppling me from my own self-control. This Enemy doesn’t always mount a full frontal assault, but often prefers to sneak in via small almost imperceptible chinks in my defense. My (our) greatest danger is not rejecting salvation, but neglecting it (Hebrews 2:3) by taking the easy road, or frittering time and energy away in pointless distractions.
It is easy to substitute serious time with the Lord in his Word for mere dalliances with it, while imagining that I am being faithful. Today, this selfsame Word challenges me, convicts me, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, will correct and change me.
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