Daily Reading // Isaiah 59:1-8
READY // SILENCIO
Take a moment to quiet your mind and prepare your heart for your time with the Lord.
READ // LECTIO
Read the passage above up to three times aloud. Allow yourself to feel the words as they are read.
REFLECT // MEDITATIO
Now direct your focus on the words, phrases concepts or sentences that got your attention. What is God speaking to you today through His word?
Isaiah 59:1-2 1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden [His] face from you, So that He will not hear.
I once heard someone say, “If you are farther from God than you used to be, guess who moved.” The answer is always the same. God does not distance Himself from me. I distance myself from Him.
Another friend of mine often says, “You’re as close to God as you want to be.”
The reality is God’s desire and willingness to be close to me never changes; never waivers. He is constant and steady. He has done all to establish that close relationship with me, even suffering on a cross. God doesn’t run hot and cold in His feelings or commitment. I do.
What if every day, at my choosing, is either a day of drawing closer to Him or farther from Him? Even more than that, every decision, every choice, can either draw me closer or farther. It may seem a small thing but every neglect, every indifference, every selfish act, every sin piles up between me and Him. He stays the same but I barricade myself from His watchful eye and His listening ear. That is not a barricade I can live with.
RESPOND // ORATIO
Pray in response to what the Lord has spoken to you.
God, Thank You for Your constant and steady love for me. Help me remain steadfast and eliminate anything that comes between You and me. Amen.
Tomorrow’s reading -> Isaiah 59:9-21