| Isaiah – “Bring Them Home, Lord!” This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will give a signal to the godless nations. They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms; they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.” – Isaiah 49:22 (NLT) Is there any greater sorrow than having loved ones, especially children, that are a long way from God? It grieves you. It frustrates you. It makes you feel like a complete failure as a parent or grandparent or spouse. You feel as if it’s somehow your fault that they don’t love Him like you do or serve Him the way you do. You believe that if you could just say the right thing, or do the right thing, that they’d come to Him. But sometimes you discover the harder you try, the further from God they seem to go. You pray, but it sometimes feels as if nothing is happening. Where is God in all of this? He’s working. You may not see it, you may not feel it, but God is working. When I read our passage today, it breathed a breath of hope into me. The Lord reminded the people through Isaiah that He works in dark places. Though the people who had been in bondage had lost hope that they’d ever see their sons or daughters again, God gave them the assurance that they would. God was moving upon the powers that held them, and those children that they thought were gone forever would soon be coming home. God STILL works in dark places! Our loved ones may be blinded by the darkness that they’re in, but there is a Light that can pierce that darkness! They may be bound by chains that we think they’ll never be able to be freed from, but God can break those chains! No one is ever too far gone that the long arm of the Lord can’t reach them. The Apostle Paul taught us that. No one has ever been gone too long to find their way back. The thief on the cross is proof. WE may not be able to reach them, but the Spirit of God can speak to them, the Hand of God can touch them, and the Love of God can draw them no matter where they are. While it is true that God doesn’t force people to come to Him against their will, He has been known to annoy them against their will! Let’s pray together today that our God works in those dark places. Let’s ask Him to become an irresistible force working upon their hearts. Let’s ask Him to be a persistent voice whispering in their ears. Let’s ask Him to be an unshakable memory in their minds that stays with them. Let’s pray together today for a BREAKTHROUGH in their lives that calls them home and sets them free! That’s God’s Word for you today. |
