Iniquities

Isaiah 64:6 ESV

One of the most difficult concepts I learned from scripture as a child was that human beings are unable to escape making mistakes. Sin is ever present in our lives.

Isaiah 64:6 tells us, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

I struggled with the “fact” of sin because I tried so very hard not to do anything wrong. I did not like getting a spanking. I avoided it at all costs.

So as a child when we studied “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) I couldn’t understand if God can do anything why can’t God help me not to sin.

Many decades later I can see that I was missing the point.

God wasn’t telling me I needed to be more perfect. God wanted me to know I could live worry free because the sin thing was covered by Jesus.

It took time for me to figure that out. In Sunday School we sometimes talked about sin and relying on God to help us. So, inch by inch, step be step I learned to turn to God.

I learned to turn to God when I was making decisions about figuring out the right thing to do.

I learned to turn to God for help when I didn’t know which way to turn.

I learned to wait for an answer.

I learned how the Spirit interacts and how to know when the Spirit is telling me something or showing me something.

I learned how to hear God when God speaks to me.

None of those things were easy things to learn, but because I loved Jesus I was driven to learn more about how God communicates with us.

The most important thing I learned from my dad is that God does communicate with us. When I wanted him to make it easy for me and tell me the steps, he said he couldn’t do that because we are all different and God communicates with us in different ways.

Time and time again when I had questions he sent me back to God. At the time I was very frustrated with that, but in time I learned my dad was doing me a favor.

There is an old saying that goes something like this, “You can give a man a fish or you can teach a man how to fish.”

My dad did not give me a fish.

He sent me back to God so the Spirit of God could teach me how to fish.

I was young and I wanted easy answers. My dad knew the easy answer wouldn’t last a lifetime. He also knew he would not always be there so I needed to depend on God. I needed to learn how to listen to God.

He was right.

I was 34 when he died. He was sixty.

I would not have emotionally survived if my dad wouldn’t have taught me how to rely on God instead of relying on him.

Today many many moons later my children have children and my oldest grandchild is 24 years old. My emphasis today is not in giving advise. It’s on offering prayer for them regularly. I’ve asked God to tell me when and how to pray.

God is good. God answers my prayer to remind me to pray. We like sheep go astray…and God draws us back in.

I thank God for always being there.

Deborah/acrazyjourney.com