Isaiah 59:1-2

For the past several weeks, I've been reading the book of Isaiah. Isaiah is a very wonderful book to read. It contrasts the message of destruction with the promise of redemption. Today I was reading Isaiah 59 and the first two verses struck a chord within me. They say "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear." (ESV) This made me think of how people often question God's sovereignty. They say that if He is all-powerful why doesn't He just stop all the evil and suffering in the world? And the answer is right here in Isaiah. Man wants God to step in and solve all their problems, yet they refuse to submit themselves to God's perfect will. Sin creates a barrier between mankind and God. It was this barrier that Jesus came to bridge. But when people refuse to take that bridge and continue in their sins, they refuse to accept God's sovereignty over everything. As believers, we give our lives over to God. We recognize that He is in control of everything because He knows best. Unbelievers refuse to submit. So how can God help a rebellious people out? WHY would God help out a rebellious people? God isn't subject to what people want Him to do. Unbelievers want a servant God. Someone who cleans up their mess but whom they don't have to listen to. And unfortunately for them, that's not the way God works. If God wanted to, He could easily step in and save the day. Get rid of poverty, world hunger, racism, genocide and all the other horrors of our world. But would that really make people worship Him? Or would it just be more of an incentive to make God their servant when things start going wrong again? God wants to help us, but he wants us to realize that WE are His servants, not the other way around. Our sins create a gap between us and God, but praise be to Jesus for bridging that gap. Once we recognize that our sins have caused a separation between us and God and choose to trust in Jesus for our salvation, we will begin to see how God works to protect His children.