A Way Back to God
God makes a way through the waters and a way through the desert, but let's make another observation here. The reading in Isaiah said this, “The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. Yet you have not called on me, Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.” (Isaiah 43:20–22 NIV11)
You know what? People who care nothing for God can also get through tough times. They say things like this to each other: “Hang in there.” “This too shall pass.” “These things are sent to test us.” And a lot of the times these things do pass. Even for people who don't know God, they hang in there, they get through their time of testing, and they go on living without God. And God says, You have not called on me. You have not wearied yourself for me. I made you and formed you for my praise. I made a way for you, but you have not called on me.
And that breaks God's heart, because His great plan and purpose in our lives is for us to find a way back to Him.
God's Call to Reconciliation
In fact, it turns out that these two great moments in history that we've been talking about this week - the Jews being freed from slavery and then again being freed from exile and Babylon - these two events paint a symbolic picture of a greater spiritual reality. These were symbols or pictures of the greater work God would do to free all people from their selfish and sinful ways and bring them back to Him.
Listen to these words of Paul in 2 Corinthians. He said: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here. All this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, not counting people's sins against them.”
You know what church is about? It's about reconciliation. It's about getting people back to God and back to each other. God made a way for us friends, but we must remember that it's not just a way through difficult times. He made a way for us to come back to Him.
Return to God
If you've drifted from God, or if you're angry with God, or if you've never even really given yourself to God, you know what? He has made a way for you - to bring you to Himself.
Do you need to open yourself up to God again today? Is today the day for you to really surrender, to really say yes to Jesus, to lay down your burdens at the feet of God, to kneel at the cross and say, “I'm coming back to you, Lord”?
God has made a way and there are no toll gates on the way back to God. It's free, but it was paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. Come back to God. There's a way open. All you have to do is believe in Christ, receive His forgiveness, and then start living with God again.
Do it.
Do it today.
