My beloved family, it is so good to be writing to you again. Time is irrelevant, but it has been hard to go so long without something to share with you. How have you all been? Let me know, if you feel like it. I would love to hear from you.
Things have been a bit crazy lately. Mom was in the hospital for a week and got out about a week ago. But here and there I have been reading the book of Isaiah. I hadn’t read anything for a couple of days, and this morning, I picked up my Bible and opened to the spot in Isaiah where I had left off. When I opened it, I couldn’t remember what I had read the previous time, so I looked at the spots I had marked in the previous chapter. Ones that stood out to me.
The following verses stood out to me, as you can see my circles and such, but I don’t know why they did. I can’t recall. But today, they JUMPED out and dove right into my heart, and I knew that God wanted me to share something after a long silence.
Lately, I have been seeing myself for who I am (in the flesh) and who I’ve been and it’s really unsightly. Ugh. Yuck. I was talking to a dear friend about this, and we agreed that the Lord digs up all the crap in us, and we see it, but this digging up and bringing to the surface is only the glorious work He is doing in us. Making us like Him. Our God is a consuming fire. He is like a refiner’s fire. Consuming the dross (foreign matter, dregs, or mineral waste, in particular scum formed on the surface of molten metal.) Refining the gold until it is completely pure. So as this stuff comes up, it is hard to look at, miserable to experience, but all part of His beautiful working. His love for us.
So, I’ve been contemplating, as I see my unpleasantness, “How can I walk in God and be a light, and be all that He wants me to be, when I’m such a schmuck ???!!!!” If I was texting I would add that squinty eyed emoji that looks disgusted. So that’s been my battle ground. Wanting with all my heart to be all that God wants to be in me, and seeing all the muck at the same time.
So here are those verses and the one after them:
42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?
20Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
21The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; HE will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
I didn’t see it when I first read them, but I see it now, thankfully. He’s talking about us, I believe. God is talking about “His servant” (me, you) , “His messenger” (me, you), “he that is perfect” (you, me…..and yes, it says perfect, because whether we see it or not, we ARE perfect in Christ Jesus).
I read these words this morning and all of a sudden, I saw myself in them. I saw all of us in them. We are His servants, but we are blind to the truth so often. We are His messengers on this planet, but we are deaf to the reality of His strength, His love, His power, His ability, His plan…… We are perfect, wanting nothing, in Christ, our glorious Lord and Savior, but we bumble along blindly on the battlefield. We fill our line of sight with our own shortcomings. We block our ears with the lies of our own discouragement.
And what is God doing while we’re stumbling along, blind and deaf? “The Lord is well pleased for HIS righteousness sake.” The Lord is not upset because we’re not seeing or hearing His truth, at the moment. He is still completely faithful to burn off the old man in us with His consuming, refiner’s fire. He does not falter. He does not sleep. He continues to do this amazing work in us, regardless of what we see in our lives that we “think” holds us back from being what God wants. He looks at you and He sees His Son. Period. And as He is doing His work in us, and we are stumbling around blind and deaf, we are STILL His servants. We are still His messengers. We are still perfect, in Him. Fear not, neither be discouraged, The Lord God almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth, has you. He has you. He loves you. He will stop at nothing to bring you into all that He wants to give you.
It’s very exciting.
I love you all.
Amy
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.