May 3 - Isaiah 33:13

Hear, you who are far away,

what I have done;

and you who are near,

acknowledge my might.

Isaiah 33:13

One of the first things that I learned in pastoral care class is that “distance” has nothing to do with “distance.”

Families can live far away and be close. Families can live next door and be very angry, cold, or distant.

• God – through Isaiah – is proclaiming his message across great physical distances. There was some physical scattering of his people, Israel. Even though they were not living in Jerusalem – indeed, maybe eventually exiled – God wanted them to know of his power, might, actions, and plans.

• God was also proclaiming this message across great physical distances to people who were not his own. He wanted the world to know who was God! 

• God was also proclaiming his message across the great distance of time. Yes, he wanted the people of Isaiah’s day to know of his power and plans, but he wants all future generations – including you and me – to know them too.

• Furthermore, God was additionally proclaiming his message to his people – both Jews back then and Christians now – who’d become distant in terms of relationship. Has your heart ever felt cold and distant from God? This message is for you. 

• Finally, God was speaking to those who were near. Whether we were living in Jerusalem twenty-five hundred years ago or are spiritually close to our Lord now, God calls us to be his witnesses, to “acknowledge [his] might.” 

The call today is to examine your relationship with God … in terms of closeness and distance. If distant, God invites you back into the pages of scripture – and back into the pages of blessing in your life – to “hear” (and be reminded of) “what [he] has done.”

If close, God calls you to be his witnesses by acknowledging his might.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s both

– close and distant,

close and distant –

depending on the moment

(Guess I have two jobs)