WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: What strategies do you use to help you cope with difficult times?

God’s anger
‘In, over, through, out,’ I repeated over and again to my long-suffering husband as I started him on the intricacies of knitting... a sequence I’d learnt longer ago than I care to remember.
Isaiah’s refrain here is rather different (9:12,17,21; 10:4).

God’s anger is still not over. And by now we are wondering just how much more anguish there will be before it is. Surely God must take pity on the people now! But a righteous God has to wait for his people to recognise their sin (10:3).

Looking at ourselves
It can be tempting to blame our leaders for all our problems. Certainly God’s anger was directed against the unjust law-makers and leaders of his people (10:1,2). But we must look at ourselves, too.

Most of us have the privilege of living in a democracy, a far cry from the ruling system at the time of Isaiah where kings could pass unjust laws on their suffering people without a second thought. We all have our sphere of influence such as our home and family, perhaps our work. We have to take responsibility, be accountable.

And as we begin to make changes, however small, they will soon ripple out, become more significant and reach many more people. We might not all be called to be an Isaiah, but there is still plenty each one of us can do.

Respond: What can I do to make the world I live in every day a better place for those around me?

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-12-27