Sept 12 - Isaiah 63:15

Lord, look upon us

from heaven, where you live

in your holiness and glory.

Where is your great concern for us?

Where is your power? Where are

your love and compassion?

Do not ignore us.

Isaiah 63:15

Sometimes I picture creation like a two story house. Earth is the first floor. Heaven is upstairs.

And what's between heaven and earth? Let's call it a barrier, ceiling.

Well, sometimes the thickness of the ceiling seems thin. Have you ever had wonderful seasons like that? We can not only hear distinct thumpings from above, but God seems so very real.

Other times, however, doesn't the ceiling seems a hundred feet thick and hasn't God seemed so far away.

I hope you've experienced those seasons when the ceiling seems thin and God's presence feels fresh and new. But I'm also guessing that you've experienced times when the ceiling seems so thick that you're not even sure there is a second story.

Have you ever been there? Have your prayers ever seemed to just bounce helplessly off the cold ceiling and fall back to earth. Have you ever cried like Isaiah in today's verse? "Lord, look down from where you live. Father, pay attention to my desperate cry. God, don't you know that I am struggling?"

Yes, have you ever cried for help? Isaiah sometimes, too, felt like God was a million miles away? "Lord ... where is your great concern for us? Where is your power? Where are your love and compassion? Do not ignore us."

And in that cry is our model for help: Be like a prophet. Do cry. Indeed, keep crying. And don't give up.

Indeed, Isaiah didn't give up. He kept crying.  And … he got to see the deliverance of God! Israel was restored.

When you seek restoration, hope, forgiveness, joy, and peace, keep crying, trusting that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. Yes, there are times when the ceiling definitely seems thick, but God has big ears and an even bigger heart.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who liked the vent

in his grandmother's ceiling

(As grandkids, we thought

we could get away with

going to the second floor

and sneaking open the vent

and spying on the family room

- and adults - from above.

But we always learned,

- always instantly - that

we couldn't fool grandma!)