Seek God First
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple…And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1, 5)
As people of faith, we are summoned from time to time to wrestle with the times in which we live. Whether the times are personal or political; individual or communal, we must confront that which seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us, so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. It is through this that we have to come to terms with the meaning of our faith in light of oppression and injustice in the world.
Such was the case for the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6, when he preached to Israel during a time of great prosperity on the one hand, and a time of great social upheaval on the other. They were in rebellion against God, and God gave Isaiah a vision concerning the kingdom during the morally corrupt reigns of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
During this time in history, Isaiah foresaw the eventual punishment and exile of the people of Judah as they wrestled with apostasy, injustice in the land, and a complete assault on their spiritual values, their ethical principles, and their political character. In that context, Isaiah came with a word to the people of God, a word for a divided nation, encouraging them to trust God’s power to save, to heal, and to restore the nation—both its political systems and its heart for God.
We would be wise to follow Isaiah’s example in our world today. We should be turning to the Lord above anything or anyone else and pray that He would save us, encourage us, help us, and restore us. Just like Isaiah knew the Lord was their only hope in their time of need, we should remember the same is true for us. No one can rescue us from all that we are facing other than Jesus Christ. So let’s go to Him in prayer, interceding for our brothers and sisters in Christ, for our nation, and for our world.
As people of faith, we are summoned from time to time to wrestle with the times in which we live. Whether the times are personal or political; individual or communal, we must confront that which seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us, so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. It is through this that we have to come to terms with the meaning of our faith in light of oppression and injustice in the world.
Such was the case for the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6, when he preached to Israel during a time of great prosperity on the one hand, and a time of great social upheaval on the other. They were in rebellion against God, and God gave Isaiah a vision concerning the kingdom during the morally corrupt reigns of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
During this time in history, Isaiah foresaw the eventual punishment and exile of the people of Judah as they wrestled with apostasy, injustice in the land, and a complete assault on their spiritual values, their ethical principles, and their political character. In that context, Isaiah came with a word to the people of God, a word for a divided nation, encouraging them to trust God’s power to save, to heal, and to restore the nation—both its political systems and its heart for God.
We would be wise to follow Isaiah’s example in our world today. We should be turning to the Lord above anything or anyone else and pray that He would save us, encourage us, help us, and restore us. Just like Isaiah knew the Lord was their only hope in their time of need, we should remember the same is true for us. No one can rescue us from all that we are facing other than Jesus Christ. So let’s go to Him in prayer, interceding for our brothers and sisters in Christ, for our nation, and for our world.
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