Admittedly, I have been somewhat lacking in the spiritual development department. My extra time tends to go to work-related tasks. My prayers seem to be without form and substance trailing off at the end. The other night I prayed the Lord’s Prayer at least three times saying each word with meaning, and by the third time I had prayed substituting my everyday language so that it was coming from my heart and not just reciting a well-known prayer.
Soon after, still yearning for spiritual depth, I began reading Isaiah. When I got to the passage above, I stopped reading through the book of Isaiah, and contemplated the words of Isaiah.
6-7Seek God while he’s here to be found,
pray to him while he’s close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.8-11“I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Isaiah 55:6-7, The Message
While I try to keep God in the middle of my life, I don’t always succeed as evidenced by my lack of posts for the month of September. This past month has found me consistently distracted from spiritual contemplations. I’ve been focused on work and trying to get better at what I do. My work is always on the computer, so it often turns out that computer=work and thus the reason for my lack of postings.
But this post is not merely about how I’ve not been posting. It’s more about how I’ve not been looking for God where God is easier to find. Yes, God is completely beyond limits…limitless. However, it’s quite unlikely that I’ll see God’s presence and influence in the midst of research or computer work. Therefore, I need to look for God where it’s easier for me to see God.
Then when I go to the places where it’s easier to feel God’s presence, it’s kind of mind blowing how I feel more whole, content and welcomed. As spiritual beings it almost feels like coming home and being loved regardless of where one has been. It’s like a sunny day. It’s like coming up for air. Maybe this is part of what the author refers to as God’s forgiveness. God just wants me–flawed as I am, God just wants me to live through those things that help to rise above the mundane. The positive energy of God gives me the “it’s good you’ve come back home” feeling. That’s mercy. That’s forgiveness for the wayward child that I tend to be.
What I found interesting was right after the words on God’s mercy and forgiveness, there’s the declaration that our ways are different from God’s. I couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t just about how God is divine and I am created being (although this is very much true).
But, if I think about it, and am honest with myself, the “lavish forgiveness” and love that goes along with God’s unlimited mercy tends to be a bit far away from my daily grind. My version of ‘lavish forgiveness’ often is nothing more than tolerance. When it comes to mercy, sometimes my version is unfortunately not much more than ‘I’ll deal with it’ or some level of acceptance, like, ‘this is just the way it is.’
God’s version IS so much more. God’s mercy is abundant and overflowing. It’s higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean.
