"Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
Isaiah 59:1-2
This is a good reminder that when there is a silence or even a wall between ourselves and God, it is *we* that have built it. God's hand is still reaching for us, still willing to gather us. He is still listening, hoping that we will pray and talk to him about our challenges. When we sin and walk away from him, we stop listening to him, and we stop being able to make ourselves heard through the static. In order to get through, we have to tear down that wall, tune into the right channel... do whatever it takes to get back in touch with God.
We often hear the scripture that says "the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (D&C 1:31 and Alma 45:16) and I think we frequently misinterpret it to mean that God won't even listen or help us unless we are as close to perfect as we can get. It doesn't mean that. It means that God is never going to look at our progress and let us graduate without actually knowing the material. He's never going to lead us into mediocrity. He doesn't encourage us to just give up and say "that's okay." He is always determined to set us on our feet again, and help us to face the things that we have to face so that we can eventually prevail. It means all of those things, but NEVER that he won't help us, as long as we are willing.
Today, let's clear out the distractions and tear down the walls--let's focus and set our priorities, and get rid of the impediments that we have created that interfere with our communication with God. Let's make sure that the way is clear and that we are willing to be saved, so that God can do just that. :)
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
Isaiah 59:1-2
This is a good reminder that when there is a silence or even a wall between ourselves and God, it is *we* that have built it. God's hand is still reaching for us, still willing to gather us. He is still listening, hoping that we will pray and talk to him about our challenges. When we sin and walk away from him, we stop listening to him, and we stop being able to make ourselves heard through the static. In order to get through, we have to tear down that wall, tune into the right channel... do whatever it takes to get back in touch with God.
We often hear the scripture that says "the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (D&C 1:31 and Alma 45:16) and I think we frequently misinterpret it to mean that God won't even listen or help us unless we are as close to perfect as we can get. It doesn't mean that. It means that God is never going to look at our progress and let us graduate without actually knowing the material. He's never going to lead us into mediocrity. He doesn't encourage us to just give up and say "that's okay." He is always determined to set us on our feet again, and help us to face the things that we have to face so that we can eventually prevail. It means all of those things, but NEVER that he won't help us, as long as we are willing.
Today, let's clear out the distractions and tear down the walls--let's focus and set our priorities, and get rid of the impediments that we have created that interfere with our communication with God. Let's make sure that the way is clear and that we are willing to be saved, so that God can do just that. :)
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