I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which did not call on My name.
“I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts ...”
Isaiah 65:1-2
Isaiah 65 is not easy to read without squirming. Much of the first part is an open rebuke from God. Things get happier at the end, but don't read just that part. God is telling His people to wise up and seek Him: Abandon all idols, including the notion of "luck." Meet one-on-one with God and let Him be the one who leads your life. Stop trying to show how righteous you are (you're not). ...And so on.
But here's what tugged at me the other day when I read this chapter:
“I said, ‘Here am I, here am I’ ”
and...
“I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people”
The first thing that came to mind when I read these these lines was Genesis 3:8-9, where God calls to Adam in the garden of Eden:
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
This is one of the most heart-wrenching pictures in scripture. God and His first children apparently had the habit of meeting in the cool of the day for fellowship. They knew the sound of His footsteps in the garden. Until this day, that sound had surely brought them joy: "He's here!!" I can picture them saying, running to meet Him. They knew the sound of His laughter, the touch of His arm, the look of delight on His face as He watched them learn and grow. Then one day it all went wrong, and they hid from Him in shame.
Yet many years later, here He is in Isaiah 65 -- still not having given up on human beings. Despite much evidence to indicate that we are hopeless rebels who will never truly seek Him, He continues to reach out His hands to us, all day long. He's always ready for fellowship, saying "Here am I, here am I!" even to people who aren't listening.
Oh, stop the madness, all His people. He is beautiful, He is our Father, He is our Savior. He doesn't care two hoots about our religious efforts. He's not expecting us to be perfect. He just wants us to run to Him when He calls "Here am I, Here am I." He just wants us to meet Him daily in our private one-on-one place, and perhaps sometimes repeat back to Him, "Here am I!" -- "I'm here, sweet Father!" "Here I am, wonderful Lord Jesus!"
He has His arms out to us every minute of the day. He has stories to tell us. He has lessons to teach us. He has projects for us. He has sweet words of comfort to wrap us in. He has words of caution and counsel to give us. He wants us to know Him. He wants us to share ourselves with Him -- our fears, our anger, our quirks, our secrets, our joys... all of it. It's a holy love relationship, and He paid an unthinkable price to make it once again accessible to us.
Here am I, Lord. I spread out my hands to You. I run to You. Here am I!