Must we be a rebel forever?: A devotional

“Must you be a rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick. You are sick from head to foot-covered with bruises, welts and infected wounds-without any ointment or bandages.”
(Isaiah 1: 5,6)

There was a man in downtown Grand Rapids who I would see wandering around, muttering to himself. Sometimes he would be sitting on a bench, or I’ve seen him in the heart of the city on a Saturday night in the shadows of the lit up bars. He is what you would expect a homeless man to look like, dirty, un-shaven and maybe a little banged up. People usually passed him with little notice or concern, such as myself; yet, I can’t help but wonder his story behind who he is. Did he live in a home growing up? What happened to his family? Does he know the Lord? His mutterings make me conclude that perhaps he may be not in his right state of mind. More than that, it shows that he is alone- without anyone to walk with or share the day’s events.
However, I was also reminded as I walked down the streets of Grand Rapids the blocks of shelters, food pantries and places that will help the homeless build his/her life over. In fact, Grand Rapids is one of the top cities in the United States with shelters for this very purpose. Therefore, when I passed a person on the street who is, day after day, wandering around alone, I often wondered why he/she won’t take advantage of these free services! All these places are waiting with open doors to help and restore.
When I read Isaiah, I am reminded of humanity’s rebellion towards God’s open doors of restoration and renewal. As long as the people of Judah continued to sin, they refused God’s help and isolated themselves. If they would only submit themselves to God’s care, they would become once again healthy, happy, blessed people of God.
To us, the history of Israel may make us cringe. Why wont they just obey God? Do they know that they can avoid all this heartache!? Time and time again we read how Israel refused God’s help and every time they failed miserably. However, unfortunately we don’t just read it, we participate exactly what we cringe at! How many times have we tried to make a big decision based on our emotions or intellectual reasoning alone? How many times do we try to solve problems or surrender to the sin that eats away our very lives?! Why do we refuse to reach up and surrender to God’s open arms of strength and comfort?! Must we remain a rebel forever!
We may wonder why a homeless man never surrenders to the ones who want to reach out and help him. In the same way, God wonders why we refuse to surrender to the One who wants to reach out and help us! Life has a way to beat us around a bit. Our heart may be sick, we may be covered in bruises, but we do have bandages that are waiting to salve the wounds. It is our choice to reach out and accept them!