Isaiah 58

“Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.” Isaiah 58:2 NLT

“Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” Isaiah 58:5 NIV

We have fast food restaurants for when we just want to eat now. If we are too hot or too cold, we can adjust the thermostat to meet our desired room temperature. We have microwaves and induction cook tops to speed up our cooking times. Coffee makers that can be preprogrammed the night before, so that our coffee is hot and ready for when we crawl out of bed the next morning. If we enter into a dark room, we have light switches to turn on the light so that we can do what we need to do and when we leave the room we turn off the switch. We live in a world of convenience.

Our relationship with the Lord is the opposite of the above examples – it is not to be of convenience. We are not to expect the Lord to change and accommodate our desires. He is not a device to be manipulated or programmed. Our relationship with the Lord is not to be like a light switch that is turned on to shed light only during the times and areas that we want it. He is not a back-up plan, or a ‘plan B’.

Even though our best is not good enough, the Lord expects, requires, and deserves it. May we have the desire to earnestly seek Him – not just when we need Him, but everyday and in all things.