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Isaiah 29 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
I can remember times in my life when I was simply neglecting the spiritual wisdom of God. Like a nagging fly that kept landing on me, I swatted those thoughts out of my mind in order to continue doing what I wanted. Deep down, I knew my heart was not truly satisfied – but I chased my own desires. It’s a terrible place to be. In order to get my mind off who I truly was and what I should have been doing, I tried to fill my life to the brim with fun and engaging activities for my flesh. The end result was emptiness.
For me, that took place at the end of the day when I laid my head on my pillow. There was a stillness I could not escape. In those moments, I could no longer distract my mind with enticing options to silence God’s persistent call. I ran with all my might, but like a lion hunting his prey, the Lord chased me down. I often use this analogy with other people when I have a feeling they are wrestling with God. I will say, “When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, in the stillness, I pray God messes with you like never before.”
In Isaiah 29, we read a similar analogy.
The Lord said, “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized.
Isaiah 29:13 GNB
Before we truly surrender to the Lord, we are living in a dream world. We give him lip service, but continue with our own desires. We continue to feed ourselves poison.
God’s people were dying a slow death, but many of them didn’t want to hear it. They filled their lives with festivals and partying to numb the conviction. They closed their ears to the warnings of true prophets, and listened to the lies of the enemy. What a horrible place to be!
My prayer for anyone who can relate is exactly what I stated above. I pray in the stillness of your life, when you can no longer distract yourself, that the God of the Universe would break you down. Many of us know what to do. The brave will follow through, giving up everything and trusting in Jesus. Where is God messing with you in the stillness? Where are you putting off what He’s placed on your heart?