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18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for Him!
19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem,
you will weep no more.
How gracious He will be when you cry for help!
As soon as He hears, He will answer you.
20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity
and the water of affliction,
your teachers will be hidden no more;
with your own eyes you will see them.
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left,
your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,
"This is the way; walk in it."
Isaiah 30
I fell in love with these verses the first time I read them over 20 years ago. They conjure up images of an anxious child, standing before a fork in the road of life.
Then miraculously, from behind the perplexed child, a teacher appears. The teacher moves in quietly from behind. He places his reassuring hands on the child’s shoulders and gives a loving squeeze. Then he leans over and whispers the answers to every question into the child’s ear. His mouth so close, the warm breath of each spoken word can be felt against the child’s attentive ear lobe.
The child, with the wisdom that truth and knowledge bring, confidently steps forward onto the path. Every step now guided by the teacher. Never faltering; never fearful; the child now boldly faces life with the guarantee of success.
What comfort!
What assurance!
What a life!
Of course, I would probably turn to argue with the teacher or worse swat at his annoying breath as if it were a mosquito buzzing around. One look at my life choices would confirm my behavior in the presence of the teacher.
But…the promise is still valid. There is no expiration dating on the Word of God. To quickly forego the resplendent promises available to the person who learns to listens to the teacher because of previous failures, would be a mistake.
Realizing this, who would not want to live in the presence of a teacher who is instantaneously available the very second you are confronted with a life question?
Question confronts you.
Voila, the teacher appears with the answer!
No more antagonizing years of waiting in fervent prayer. No more moments of gut wrenching remorse. No more tripping around in uncertainty. No more pain!
It all sounds too good to be true!
But wait a cotton picking minute, didn’t Jesus promise us this type of teacher? Didn’t He say…
26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in My name,
will teach you all things
and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14
Why do I find myself stumbling around in absentminded confusion so often? Could it be that I have wax in my spiritual ears? If so, what kind of Q-tip to use?
It is so easy to resort to Sunday school answers. Although valid, there must be something more. Something I am missing, not seeing, not hearing…what is it, Teacher?
© 7/14/04 Lissa M. Lee
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