Devotion

Today’s scripture: Isaiah 48:1-22 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?

My thoughts (Angie Best):

“I hate you.” Harsh words when spoken by your eight year old child in a fit of anger over a refused request. Even harsher when spoken by your twenty-two year old child in a fit of anger over another decision with which she disagrees. “I never want to speak to you again.”

So far, she means it. Ignored texts, no return calls. Complete and utter silence.

But her refusal to communicate with me doesn’t stop me. Once a week, without fail, I reach out in love. Always the same message. “I love you. I am here for you. That will never change.”

So far, I always get the same response. That is, none. She has drawn her line in the sand. Made her demands. Unless/until I meet them, I will be rewarded with continued silence. Her decision, held high with all the confidence a barely adult child can muster.

It doesn’t change my love for her. It remains steadfast.

In the uncomfortable in-between time, the words from Isaiah ring loudly as I see my own stubbornness, my own impatient foot-stamping as Isaiah says, “For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze” (v 4).

My child’s stubborn heart is achingly familiar. As my own mother reminds me, she comes by it honestly. I cringe to remember the times I have shaken my tiny fist at God, demanding my own way, and remained determined to follow the path I have carved out for myself, regardless of the cost.

And God has remained steadfast, never changing. Showing me in a thousand love letters, “I love you. I am here for you. That will never change.”

So often, my stubborn determination has returned such grace with defiant silence. Like my daughter, I might well get my way in the short-term, but I am missing out on so much more, much like Isaiah’s audience (v18-19).

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.”

To turn away from God, the source of love, has consequences, says the prophet. Some we can anticipate, others we cannot. Time lost in relationship with our beloved cannot be regained. Isaiah recounts what was lost in the stubborn in-between time. Decision made, prices paid. But we are not left without hope. The prophet promises this in verse 20.

“Yet even now, be free from your captivity. Leave Babylon, and the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”

We are not without hope. Our stubborn hope does not have to be the end of our story. “Even now,” he writes, “be free.” Free from a false pride that creates barriers between God and between each other. Free from the need to be right and be in control. Free from anything that would separate us from the one who loves us.

Even now, be free.

Thought for the day: In what way is your stubbornness impacting your relationship with God and others?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.