“Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:14-15 NIV
What obstacles hinder your relationship with God and keep you from enjoying a closer walk with Him? God wants to move those obstacles out of your way! Listen to the heart of God in this passage. Although He is high and exalted, holy and eternal, He is not detached or out of reach. Just the opposite is true, He is with the one who is contrite and lowly.
The word contrite is translated from the Hebrew word dakka’, which means crushed or broken. It alludes to the idea of an object being under so much pressure that it’s ground into dust. Have you ever felt that way, like the pressure is so strong you are being crushed under the weight of it? That’s when God desires to be the closest to you, so He can restore your heart and renew your peace. How about when we are crushed as a result of our own sin?
I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me— the very people I have created. I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.” Isaiah 57:16-19 NIV
Our God is committed to you! He loves you! The blood Jesus shed on the cross is totally sufficient to cover your sins when you call out to God in repentance. Even when you are suffering due to your own sinful choices, God still loves you and He desires to heal your broken heart! If you turn back to Him completely, He will restore your comfort and bring back the peace that you lost when you rejected Him and went your own way.
What if we choose to remain in sin?
But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20-21 NIV
Don’t let any obstacle keep you from enjoying a close walk with God! He is committed to you! Will you commit to Him?