“It is possible to coddle some secret sin, some pet indulgence kept hidden away in our back pocket for the occasional spree. We may think that, when we get tired of it or when it becomes a little too much for us, we can easily drop it and come back to God, no problem. Oh really? How do we know God will let us come back? He may leave us in our mess for a while to teach us a lesson. Our existence is more than the aggregate whole of our autonomous personal choices. Choice is one of our favorite words today. But we must never forget that God’s choices underlie our own. We can fall before him and plead his mercies in Christ our Savior but we will never outflank him or outsmart him. Solemn as this warning is, it inspires an equally thrilling hope. If it is his to harden us, then it is also his to make us tender once more. Our sinful condition is not within our easy control but it is entirely within God’s sovereign control. And that hope is the message of Isaiah 63:17. We can cry out to God from the prison we’ve created by our sins, and he will hear us even from there. After we have gone beyond the point of no return, God is able to “return” for the sake of his servants, softening his sin-coarsened people.”
-ray ortlund
Reading Reflection:
It is humbling to consider that our lives are in the hands of God. He created us and has the right to do with us as He sees fit. Despite our moments of arrogance and the illusion of control, history and the Bible both teach us that we are more helpless than we realize. Thus, we are utterly dependent upon the God of mercy. Thankfully He has revealed Himself as a God who draws near to the helpless. This should be one of our consisten prayers, that God would make our hearts tender and keep our hearts tender. We desperately need God to revive us again.
