God will restore
by Kathy Matuschka
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I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite (Isaiah 57:15b).
Yesterday I asked whether our prayers of confession – of our personal as well as our communal/societal sin – might make a difference.
In today’s text, God answers yes, he will restore. God orders that the path back be restored. In the case of the Israelites in exile, he talks about a literal road. But in our case, the road is for our hearts. This road was sealed once and for all on the cross of Christ. We only need to remind ourselves and one another that the road is ready and waiting. It’s open 24/7 and never needs repairing again!
I would like to confess to you that I am not very good at confession. I don’t often stop to think of specific sins I have committed. But I know some of my general themes. I wonder if you can identify with them or if you have others:
- I get an idea of where God may be leading and then run ahead of God’s timing on my own steam as if it all depended on me.
- I fail to recognise how Jesus comes to me in others and get frustrated when they don’t behave how I would prefer them to.
- I rush past or turn away from our planet’s deepest wounds because they are so hard to repair.
I keep falling into the same traps. To tell the truth, I don’t want to be contrite and lowly because I’m afraid of what I might lose in the material, social world. I’m more interested in God’s high and holy place than the lowly places.
I even use ‘good’ Christian projects to try to elevate myself to high and holy places and stay out of the lowly, contrite ones … but I keep tripping over myself until I admit that I can’t, but Jesus did. End of story.
Thank God that God comes to us wherever we are. Through Jesus, God repairs the road to Godself and to others!
Dear Jesus, please keep working on my stubborn heart to revive and renew me in your image. Amen.
Kathy Matuschka loves gazing at and walking within God’s creation, listening to stories of life and faith, and spending time with family and friends. She serves within the LCA Queensland District as Assistant Director for Ministry & Mission.
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