“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13
There are 2 lamps in the house that are only used by me. One is in my office and the other is beside my bed. The odds of both of those lights going out at the same time are extremely low. So I was shocked this week when they actually DID! And silly me… I KEPT getting shocked all week!
When the lights went out I didn’t immediately change the bulbs… since I didn’t need the light from those bulbs in the daytime AND I had another light overhead I could use. But that didn’t stop me from naturally hitting the switch when I walked into the room. But each time I automatically hit the switch, my mental response was the same… “HUH??? WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE LIGHT?” Then I’d laugh at myself! But some things aren’t always funny!
Some of the most telling conversations I have are those that have never taken place! When I try to call, visit, email or text someone, my general and automatic instinct is to get a response. I mean it is only common courtesy to respond to a request, one way or the other… right? I often forget that in my role as a pastor, and if I am doing my job, I should EXPECT to get ‘nothin’ much of the time!
Jesus Christ is offensive! That is a FACT! He said of Himself, “I am THE WAY… THE TRUTH… and THE LIFE!” Then He added that without HIM, NO one has gets even a FLICKER of heaven! If someone is relying on their OWN way, truth and life’s direction, their natural reaction to Jesus Christ is NOT going to be instantly favorable. When I send or leave a message, I generally expect a response. Silly me!
Isaiah 41 finds God in a mock argument with Israel. WAY back in the beginning of the Bible God lays out promises and warnings. In essence He said, ‘follow me and all will be well. If you don’t… it won’t!’ Israel not only failed to follow, they went as far as manufacturing their own ‘hand-made’ idols. In verse 22 God invites those idols to ‘speak up’ and ‘tell us what is going to happen!’ All He got was silence! Which should NOT be a shock!
EVERYBODY trusts their lives to SOMETHING! Whether knowing or unknowingly, that SOMETHING will either work… or it won’t! One would think that after flipping a switch and getting no result for such a long time, that they would finally ‘see the light’ and switch to something that WILL. But alas… we are silly creatures.
The sin that chains one to Hell can ONLY be broken HERE by Jesus Christ. When the light of one’s life goes out, what was trusted HERE will either save, or condemn. The result will either be True Light.. or darkness. Jesus advises we look CLOSELY at what we trust. Then He repeats the promise AGAIN, to encouraging everyone to switch to Him for TRUE Light and Life… “I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Is YOUR light broken?
