Isaiah 59:1-2

PASSAGE: Isaiah 59:1-2 - Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

PAUSE: God created us to live in union with Him, but our sin has caused us to be separated from His holy presence. Without Christ that separation remains! This key passage from Isaiah teaches us two important realities that both find their answer in Jesus Christ. Verse 1 reminds us that our God is a saving God! He is all-powerful and all-loving and all-knowing. But as we see in verse 2, the truth of His holiness and our sinfulness breaks the relationship. The separation that our sin creates centers on the truth that we are designed to receive both our physical and spiritual life from God alone, nothing else! Separated from Him, we are spiritually dead, cut off from the Source of meaning, purpose, life! Our iniquities (sins) also introduced the reality of physical death to God’s creation. And if we die physically, still separated from God, we will spend eternity separated from Him. This is what makes hell so horrible. Jesus on the cross, dying for the sins of the world, is God’s saving answer to our separation from God problem. The cross alone bridges the gap between me and God!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to see and understand that my sin has led to a tragic consequence. It has created a wedge between You and me that I cannot fix! I need a Savior to save me!  Amen.