by Tammy Phillips
May 26, 2021
Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (Isa 59:1 KJV)
How many treasures are found lying on the surface? Gemstones and precious metals must be mined. The same is true with the word of God. We are not going to get the answers we seek by osmosis. We cannot sit idly by and expect to hear from God. We turn on the television and radio to hear. We open our phones and computers to garner the knowledge we seek. The same is true with God. We must dig into the word to find the treasures and the answers we seek.
Sometimes, we need a reality check and the word of God will be the treasure and eye opener we need. Thank God that He has a sense of humor! and I love it when the prophets and disciples deliver reproof with a witty verse. In Isaiah 58, The Israelites had been whining about why God was not honoring their fast or answering their calls for justice and deliverance. Have we ever whined to God in our wait? Have we ever questioned why God has not saved us from our trial? Have we ever feared and asked, “Can you really God do this?” Holy Spirit recently posed this question to my sister, “Do you think I am not big enough to handle this?”
God has not changed. He is the same, today, yesterday, and forever (Malachi 3:6). He is a good and loving Father. The prophet Isaiah wittingly gives it to us straight in Isaiah 59:1. To paraphrase in my own words. This is what I heard Isaiah say:
Behold! LOOK! Pay attention! Come on, man! The Lord’s hand is not short. It has not been cut off and it has not lost its power that it cannot save, deliver, set free, preserve, help, avenge, rescue, conquer or be victorious. And! The Lord’s ear is not heavy. He has not lost His hearing. It is not dull, dimmed, hardened, burdened, or troubled by out requests. It can bear up under anything and endure everything. The Lord is not the problem.
If the Lord is not the problem…He has not lost His strength and His ears are not stopped up… what is? The prophet tells us in Isaiah 59:2, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden [His] face from you, so that He will not hear.”
Remember, the reality check? God isn’t the problem. It’s us? Imagine that? We like to blame God for everything and take no responsibility for anything. Our sin is the problem.
Sin does not keep us from the presence of God. Jesus bridged that gap and said, “Lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:20 NKJV). Our sins have separated us. The Lord did not separate from us. We separated from Him and turned our back on His ways. He also did not hide His face from us. Our sins are a result of us turning our back on the Lord and away from His face. This makes so much sense. Who in their right mind is going to answer someone, who has their back turned to them?
At the point of sin, we are separated from fellowship of God because we are not thinking the same as God and our words are not agreeing with His. We are also separated from the blessings of God because we are not trusting God that He is big enough to handle our problems. Furthermore, sin separates us from some of the benefits of God’s love. God loves us. We are His heirs. For example, He promises us long life. However, if we stuff untold sweets in our mouth, continually, we are not exercising self-control and will not reap the benefits of God a given long life. Sin also kind of separates us from the “protection” of the umbrella of God. Sometimes, the only way God can get us to turn around and repent is for us to go through a little training for correction. Perfect example of this is when we speed, see a policeman, pray that we do not get stopped, and issued a ticket. Sometimes, grace is exercised and sometimes we get a ticket to teach us to slow down.
I enCOURAGE you not to blame “it” on God. The Lord is not the problem. Deal with your own sin and God will do the rest. Sin is not big nor small. Sin is sin. Know that you are not a problem too big for God. He created you. He loves you. No problem is too big for the Lord to hear or handle. His hand is just as powerful as it has ever been. Jesus won the battle long ago and paid for our goof ups and turn arounds. Don’t let sin separate you from God’s best. It is just not worth it.
With a strong hand and outstretched arm. His faithful love endures forever. (Psa 136:12 CSB)
Complete in Him 