As I was filling out the 3x5 card for the month of May with my reading schedule, I found some very ironic days and passages. May 1st I was to begin Isaiah and May 26th was the last day spent in Isaiah. Well, for anyone going to Noblessville, we know what May 26th means the last day of school. For all the seniors, most importantly, it's the last day of high school. Currently, I am counting down the days for graduation but the irony within my reading schedule caused me to stop and think for a bit. During my last month of high school, I will be reading one of the most confusing books in the Old Testament. Now, I could read it through, while only thinking of walking across that stage and receiving my diploma, or I could do something crazy.
Well, I don't like the easy way out, so I am asking God that during the last few weeks of school, that He would do something crazy. Just in the first few chapters, I am thoroughly confused and amazed at the powerful message Isaiah is trying to convey to Judah. A few verses that really stuck out to me, concerning my life right now were from chapter 5 verses 18-19:
18 "What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! 19 They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.”
To read these verse in context click here. I like the part where is says that we mock God by asking him to hurry up and do something. This is particularly convicting in my life, because I've been asking God to do something in my life, without regard to His plan and his timing. I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11-13 (some of my favorite verses) " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plan to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" The last two verses I always tend to over look. I will have to call upon God and pray to him and seek him, but seek him will all my heart. So often I forget my relationship with God is a two-way street; it's far more than God just blessing me and giving me things. And this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan:
'The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time."
These are all things I've been pondering on while struggling to finish the marathon of high school I've been running for 4 years; God's timing is truly and wonderfully perfect.
