Isaiah 63:11-12
"Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: 'Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, Who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble?'"
Isaiah recalls a time when God's Spirit fought against his people for grieving his Spirit, remembering how Moses and Israel called out for the Lord and did not find him. As part of this fight, God hides his presence from the nation as they turned to sin. Not that our Lord quit loving his people, for that is not his perfect nature, but that he hid his Spirit so they would repent and turn again to his mercies.
Surely it is still the same today with the church. Our God still withholds the empowering presence of his Spirit when we rebel against his word, grieving against the Spirit by choosing to disobey the Lord's will and chasing after sin. It's not that our God is no longer with us, but that he has hidden the power of his Spirit to get our attention.
This is definitely not a popular message, reminding the church that our God fights against us, or that he hides himself from us, but our Lord does this for our benefit. He loves us too much to allow us to remain in disobedience. He wants to restore a close relationship with us in the Spirit, but he cannot suffer the life which rebels against his lordship.
Of course, it is a fearful thing to be in a fight against the Lord. There is no way we will overcome unless we repent and return and plead for the Lord to no longer withhold his Spirit from us. Without the Spirit's presence, we'll find our lives without hope, our spirits dry and unsatisfied, and our hearts longing again for the Savior. And that's just what the Lord wants to draw us back to obedience.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I seek you Spirit in my life and in your church. I plead for you not to withhold your Spirit's presence from us day. We want to dwell in your presence. We choose obedience and submission instead of disobedience and rebellion. Amen.
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