“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.”
We need to be careful not to take a text out of its historical context, for it might distort the meaning of the text. The text that I have printed above has a historical context, for it is a call for Israel to turn to the Lord before it is too late. But at the same time, the text has eternal significance because it can be followed successfully by anyone at any time. It is what I have called “The Way to the Lord.” Seek We are called upon to seek the Lord. We seek a lot of things in the course of our lives. Some of the things we seek are unworthy of our time and effort and some can be rewarding. In all things, however, we are to seek the Lord. At the time this text was written, Judah was going over to idol worship and doing about everything that God told them not to do. It is a call for them to stop seeking idols and seek the Lord. We do not worship idols today, per se, but we do have things that we seek instead of the Lord, and this is just as bad as what Israel was doing. We need to ask ourselves just what it is we are seeking in this life. Sometimes we can even seek things that could be worthy goals, but if they lead us away from our commitment to the Lord, they can serve as stumbling blocks in our lives. For example, we can make an idol out of education. Getting an education is an important thing and is a worthy goal for anyone, but it cannot take the place of the Lord and His will in our lives. Perhaps you need to ask yourself what it is that you are seeking in your life today. Does what you are seeking have anything to do with the Lord. He is near you wanting to lead and guide you in all of your life’s endeavors, but sometimes what we seek can lead us away from Him. This is why Isaiah admonished the Jews to “call ye upon Him while He is near.” Forsake If we discover that we are seeking the wrong things, we should forsake that way and turn to the Lord. I think that most people realize when they are getting away from the Lord, and that they know that the way they are taking is the wrong way. I can look back on my life and see where I have done that, and my life did not get straightened out until I forsook the wrong way and went the right way. It is possible that you are going through a difficult time in your life now because you are going in the wrong direction and seeking the wrong things. It is possible that there are some things that you need to forsake in order to get your life in line with the Lord. We are told to forsake two things: “his way” and “his thoughts.” We need to let the Lord have control of our thoughts, because our thoughts are the fathers of our deeds. What we think about will control what we do. Maybe there are some thoughts and ways that you need to forsake. Do it today. Return It is not enough to just forsake the wrong way; we must choose the right way. Isaiah’s admonition here is to “return unto the Lord.” This means to put our thoughts on the Lord so that He can control our ways. We will not seek what is right until we return to what is right, and it is always right to seek God’s guidance through scripture and prayer. It might even mean a return to your church, or to change your attitude about your church. Whatever it means for you, it is important that you seek the Lord, forsake the wrong way and return to the right way. God is more than willing and able to give you His great mercy and to give you His "abundant pardon." It sure beats running from God's mercy and pardon. Think about it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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