If your faith has become a race in which you have lost sight of God what can you do. What hope is there for those who have become so entangled in their self-built religion? What if you feel that you have strayed from God? “Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:9-11 Will you cry out to God? Will you desire that your heart be burdened for Him? Will the hungry of the world burden you? Do the aching hearts of the people of the world cause your heart to ache? Ask God to burden your heart to reach out to a hurting world to be His light in the darkness.

Have you placed your hope in God? Is the dilemma that you face one of trust and dependence? “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,’ declares the LORD. ‘And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: ‘My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.’” Isaiah 59:20,21  A redeemer came through Israel to the world. Jesus Christ lives today so that you may live tomorrow. The first step toward being a light in the dark world is for you to see the light yourself. Will you trust that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty of sin for you?

We should not be so quick to disassociate and dissolve ourselves from the knowledge and relationship with God that we were created to abide within. Throughout Scripture we see that God is working out His purpose for His glory. ”For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” Isaiah 48:9-10  Can you sense the power, authority, and splendor of God? Our lives are trivial exercises in futility compared to the mere eternal existence of God.

The marvel of God is that He takes an interest in mankind. We are complete failures that God deems precious. The intent of God that is documented through scripture tells of His desire to restore mankind from his rebellious nature. Time after time we rebel against God as we waiver and seek to be our own god. Throughout our disobedience God remains faithful and true. ”Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.” Isaiah 48:18,19  What would our live be like if we fully submitted to God? Would all that we would deem loss be truly lost? ”Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.” Isaiah 49:13  We cannot begin to fathom what God is purposing to do through us.

Will you give up the fight that is occurring within your soul and abdicate the throne to God? Can there be anything that will keep God from working in our lives? Can His nature be thwarted? “Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 49:24-26  Will you take hope knowing that God is working? Not even your sinful nature is strong enough to thwart God. Will you abdicate the throne of life? Your life and existence depends upon your answer.

Isaiah 30 continues to portray what motivates the hearts of mankind. “Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, ‘Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; and its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.’” Isaiah 30:12-14 When we let sin cloud our hearts without any true hope we learn to trust oppression and perversion. We hold onto what little things seem to offer us hope but we find ourselves never truly satisfied. Isaiah continues to tell of how when we live in such a hopeless state we become trapped. There is no hope that we can escape.

Thankfully Isaiah also tells us the source of true and lasting hope in chapters 29 and 39. “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 29:18,19 and “Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, ‘Be gone!’” Isaiah 30:18-22 These verses in Isaiah foreshadow the coming of hope into the world. A lasting hope that we all desire.

Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world allowing the deaf to hear the Gospel of Grace, allowing the blind to see Hope, and the captive to find freedom. We are given a great hope in Jesus Christ that we can walk through this life knowing and trusting that there is a purpose beyond the present moment. When we taste that pure hope we will no longer desire the idols of this world but we will say that Jesus Christ is truly enough for us.

What state did the people of Israel live in when the word of the Lord came to Isaiah? Did the Israelites stand out as the people of God? The Israelites were living selfishly to satisfy their own desires. The people had fallen away from loving God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. People left their true love of God and choose to follow practice and tradition instead of God. In the midst of the this situation the word of God was spoken through Isaiah.

The warning from Isaiah spoken to every generation is to not forget God. In the midst of a world that is consistently evil the people of God should set themselves apart from the ways so the world. ”Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”Isaiah 1:16,17  What would happen if we sought to cease doing evil and pursue good? What if God’s true justice was our motivation and ambition?

“Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.” Isaiah 2:8  What have our hands built? What do we take pride in? What do we treasure as priceless and worthy of worship? Will these things stand the test of time? The message is clear that we must guard ourselves from the encroaching taint of the world around us. The practices of the world will seem enticing but they will only lead to death. A day is quickly approaching when all that we have collected and acquired will become true vanity. “For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up-and it shall be brought low; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.” Isaiah 2:12-16  Don’t place your hope in possessions. Find your hope in the saving grace of God.

In Esther 1 and 2 it was surprising how the nation of Persia behaved under the rule of king Ahasuerus. The picture portrayed in Esther 1 tells about how the people celebrated the greatness of their king for over half a year. This isn’t that a little too indulgent? Was this indulgence due to an unchecked pride? King Ahasuerus seems to be eager to present himself as a great and splendid king to everyone in his nation, so he all too willingly takes the advice of his wise men. What does such lust say about the motives and desires of the Persian nations? What are your motives and desires in life? Are your motives characterized by lust? When wrong is done in sinning will committing further sin make it amends? When lust is a motivating factor in a persons life it becomes a cascading life of sin as more sin is committed to fulfill lusts appetite.

Into this world a group of exiled Jews goes about their daily lives. How has the Persian society affected their beliefs? Are they holding fast to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Where do the people of Israel rank within this kingdom? Do the Israelites in Persia wait for deliverance? The ways of the Persians enveloped the Israelite when all the beautiful virgins in the land were taken for the king. What kind of kingdom is this where young virgins are taken to satisfy the lusts of a king because he chose to dishonor the previous queen Vashti.

When Esther was chosen by king Ahasuerus to be the next queen what was she thinking? The movie infers that she found a love for him but would that truly have been the case when she was taken from her uncle Mordecai a year prior and prepared as a lust object for the king? Why did Mordecai tell Esther to hide her kindred and people from everyone? Would she have been mistreated?

Many questions were asked as I reflected upon Esther 1 and 2. I do not know what answers will be provided as the story continues to unfold in the rest for the book but what is clearly seen is that excess without God leads to a pride and lust filled existence. I am thankful that the desire in my life is to follow God wholeheartedly. It is only by the grace of God that I live and move. Reflection upon scripture always leads me to reflect upon my life and I am filled with overwhelming thankfulness in this moment.

Ezra falls to his knees as he clings to the grace that God extended in Ezra 9:5-15. The people were wrong and had sinned before God. They needed to change their ways and turn wholeheartedly to God. Ezra and the leaders of Israel expressed the urgency to the people that they were sinning before God by intermarrying with the people of the land. By the grace of God the people of Israel acknowledged their sin openly before God and set their hearts towards following His commands. When we are faced with sin in our lives what are we called to do? Will we acknowledge our sinfulness to God? Will we set our hearts towards God? We need to cling to the grace of God extended to us through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and holdfast to God as we set our hearts towards Him and not the ways of the surrounding world.

God continually sought to bring the hearts of the people of Judah back to Him through His messengers and prophets. How does a persons heart become so hardened against God that they have no respect, thought, or desire for Him? “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He has compasstion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy.” 2 Chronicles 36:15,16 What is the wrath of the Lord? Can this wrath be an expression of God’s love? God desired to maintain fellowship with us so much that He executed His full wrath over our sin upon Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. This is the true extent of the love that brings hope.

When the people of Judah are taken away into exile in Babylon all the treasures that occupied their hearts were removed or destroyed. “All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.” 2 Chronicles 36:18,19  When the things that clutter our hearts desires are removed what will happen? When 2 Chronicles 36:16 said that there was no remedy what does that mean?

The exile of Judah in Babylon would last seventy years. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years before God allowed them to inherit the promised land. The exile in Babylon and in the wilderness allowed for the generations that hardened their hearts towards God to pass away allowing the new generations to be raised up in a situation where they will be looking for God and his deliverance. God has continually worked this way throughout the Old Testament with people who are stubborn and resolutely set against Him. Does God work in this way today? Does the grace of God expressed upon the cross of Jesus Christ effect how God works today? Does God still place His people in exile to turn their hearts back to Him? What is the state of your heart today? If you find that you have become callous towards God I implore you to turn back to Him and away from the idols that you are clinging to.

In the midst of our striving after idols we will only seek after God when we are so removed from the things we cling to allowing us to truly see that our only hope is in God alone. In 2 Chronicles 33:10 Manasseh and the people of Judah pay no attention to God? They were so filled with their idols that they had no room in their hears for God. Can God’s love be expressed through His anger?  Did God love Manasseh so much that he sent the armies of Assyria to remove him from Judah and all he held dear to heart so that his heart would again seek out the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? As Manasseh was captive in Babylon his heart turned back to God. Manasseh was brought back to Jerusalem by God and he sought to remove the idols that he had brought into Israel. An amazing transformation occurred in the heart of Manasseh from a man who would not listen to God to a man who acknowledged that the Lord was God.

How does our stubbornness play into our dependance upon God? How long are you willing to live in whatever way you want before you will acknowledge that the Lord, He is God? Do not harden your heart and cling to the idols and ways of the world. You will never find satisfaction apart from God. Remove the things of this life that are cluttering your heart and let God fill your heart, mind, soul and strength the way only He can. Let go of this world and cling to the Lord your God.

Do you wonder how you are to seek to love God? Do you think you have gone too far into the pits of idolatry to ever see the hopeful light of God’s love? In 2 Chronicles 35 you can find hope that will be refreshing water for your weary soul. When Josiah became king over Judah he was only eight years old. By the age of sixteen Josiah was seeking the God of his father David and by the age of twenty four he was radically purging the evil from within Judah. As Josiah sought to know God he became aware of how far Judah strayed from God. When we see the black and white truth of God’s word illuminating the deeds of our life we will meet a crisis point where we need to choose to seek God or our selfish sinfulness.

Josiah choose to seek God and was blessed because of his tender heart, ‘ “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord. Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.” ‘ 2 Chronicles 34:27,28  God honored how Josiah set his heart toward Him when he saw the sinfulness around him. Sin has consequences and Judah would reap the reward for their actions in seeking the gods of the land in their idolatry. Today we live in a world full of gods that promise hope and fulfillment but they are only snares that lead to death. What do you worship? When we as Josiah realize our sinfulness, humble our hearts,and set our heart, mind, soul and strength toward God alone we will be spared from the coming wrath. The wrath that is coming upon this world is an eternity in hell but by God’s grace Jesus Christ took that burden of our sin upon himself when He died on the cross. We can just as Josiah find rest in our days and be taken to our fathers in peace. Where will you find your hope? Look to Jesus Christ who died on the cross for your sins for your hope.

It was vitally important for Hezekiah to tell the people of Judah how they strayed from God as seen in 2 Chronicles 29:6-11. The heart of Hezekiah is laid bare before the priests and Levites of Judah, “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.” 2 Chronicles 29:10,11  Why is a tenderhearted leader so important? Hezekiah needed the priests and Levites to help point the people of Judah back to God. His openness before the people shows how sincerely he desired that all of Judah seek after God. If you are a leader do you openly share your heart with those you lead? What effect does that openness have?

The exhortation of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 29 motivates the Levites to rise and take action. They entered back into the Temple to minister before God. Were these men filled with a fear of God as they reentered the Temple? Within sixteen days of the start of Hezekiah’s rule the Temple was cleansed and restored. What did resuming worship of God in the Temple mean for Judah? How was a personal relationship with God maintained without the indwelling Holy Spirit? The Temple was where the people of God went to worship Him and atone for their sins.

The beauty of Hezekiah’s devotion to God was experienced outside of the borders of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 30 the people of Judah and Israel are invited to celebrate the Passover again. What was it like to receive a message that the Temple was restored and the Passover celebration was being held? Some people who received the invitation to the Passover celebration laughed and ridiculed the messengers but all Judah and many from Israel came to the celebration. The hearts of these people were being drawn back to God and they were again seeking to maintain their relationship with Him. What was it like for these people who were living in a spiritual drought to worship God in the Temple again as they celebrated the Passover? “So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.” 2 Chronicles 30:26,27  Do you see the beauty of the devotion of these people of God?

God was glorified by these wayward children returning to worship Him wholeheartedly. What does this mean for us today? Leaders be passionate about seeking God and exhort those you lead to seek God. If you have strayed from God and defiled yourself with the idols arise, cleanse, and restore. Your hope for tomorrow starts today as you set your heart toward God.