FEAST or FAMINE Saturday, after days and days of extreme fun and arms filled with our grandson, he and I snapped silly shots while waiting to board a plane for Raleigh. But just 24 hours later, I flew home empty handed and, though so grateful, empty hearted. Ive learned from many such journeys that this trip from feast to famine leaves my heart hurting long after. Flying back, I started the first Isaiah chapters, and I confess to feeling resistant to more readings about God’s faithless people once again provoking his righteous anger. . . .Then barely, quietly, I caught it. That hidden gift, the glimpse of God’s tender longing, weaving a bright thread of hope even in these dark passages. The hope of redemption, scarlet lives washed white as snow (1:18). The promise of his presence, cloud by day, fire by night (4:5). Above all, the faithful forecast of Jesus, Immanuel (7:14)! Please forgive this stretched analogy, but flying through the clouds with an ache for my boy and Isaiah’s story in my head, it struck me strong how much God’s heart must hurt through the ages because his children come and go and come and go and mostly . . . go. One truth that rings loud in this unsettling Old Testament territory is how much He deeply wants his people to come and stay. Failing fallen humans, wired to wander, we are; yet still – incredibly -- he keeps coming after us. Inviting us home. Wanting us near. . . . So often, I dont linger. I’m frustrated by the harshness of the story. I get distracted by the stuff of my life. Im oh so busy. But, perhaps, here is just a hint of radical change: when we find ourselves, like David, wanting - a bit more than yesterday - to pause longer for the feast of his presence (Ps. 27). Not because now we totally get it or because weve suddenly discovered extra hours in the day, but because reading the story makes the heart of God matter more to ours! We see his arms stretched toward us across the sky and through the Story. And – for today - we reach back, tune in, and STAY.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 21:00:42 +0000