Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at Your presence— As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! Isaiah 64:1-2 NASB
Can you relate to Isaiah’s plea? Have you ever experienced a desperate longing for God to “rend the heavens and come down,” to get involved in your challenges and make the mountains you face quake in His presence?
When You did awesome things which we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him. Isaiah 64:3-4 NASB
Isaiah recounts the days of old, when God came to Israel’s rescue and he realizes just how blessed they have been. He understands that there is no other God, no one else with His great power, no one else who they need like they need Him.
Then he declares something you and I can grab hold of, something that gives me hope: God acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him! Can you imagine God acting in your behalf; not just allowing things to turn out for your good, but actually manipulating them to do so? And why would He get so involved? Because you “wait for Him.” You trust Him completely. You refrain from taking things in your own hand, and instead patiently wait for God’s plan to play out in your life.
You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways. Isaiah 64:5a NASB
I want God to meet me! It doesn’t get any better than that! God will go out of His way to encounter you, to join you as you walk through life when you gladly do what’s right and remember God in the decisions you make and the things you do!
Then Isaiah takes a moment to reflect and asks a very contemplative question.
Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, we continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved? Isaiah 64:5b NASB
Shall we be saved, after all we’ve done to offend You? It’s not like we messed up once or twice, Isaiah mused, we continued in our sin a long time! If we are being honest, we all know, we don’t deserve God’s favor!
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. Isaiah 64:6-7 NASB
All our iniquities like the wind, take us away…..away from the God we love. Isaiah is saddened by the thought that no one arouses himself to take hold of God. Could it be that we are often trapped in the power of our iniquities simply because we don’t make a conscious effort to take hold of God?
But now, O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 NASB
But now….. Those are two of the most encouraging words in all the Bible. Despite Israels continual pattern of sin, God took a personal interest in molding them like clay in the hands of a skilled potter. That’s our God. He loves us, and He never gives up on us! He acts in our behalf, and He desires to meet us! He patiently works in our lives, molding us and shaping us with precision and care, just like a potter working with clay. And when He is done, we will be a work of value, for we are the work of His hands!
Will you arouse yourself today to take hold of Him?