Build up! Build up! Prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people. (Isaiah 57:14)
That’s what we are supposed to be doing down here. Building the foundation. Preparing the road for others. For our kids. For ourselves. For those around us. But what are we preparing? Facebook memories? Never ending events and programs? Fancy Thanksgiving tables loaded with food? Shopping carts full of things we don’t need? What are we building? Catered-to kids? Entitled young adults? Perfect on the outside families?
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, my cousin lost her 21-year-old son. Suddenly. Shockingly. My heart was and is heavy. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday to gather with family and eat. And laugh. And play. Is that bad? No! But in my heart this Thanksgiving, I heard Solomon shouting, “Meaningless! Meaningless! It’s all meaningless!” Every bit of it! We are a vapor in the wind. A fading flower. We are nothing.
Reflections started. Perspectives emerged. Questions popped up in my mind. Am I building for eternity? Am I preparing for what truly matters?
As the Lord says in Isaiah 57:17, our sinful greed enrages him.
Greed. We are dogs with mighty appetites who never have enough. We turn to our own way and seek our own gain. We lie around and dream. (Isaiah 56:10-11)
Meaningless!
My heart is heavy. But I take hope in Isaiah 57:18. God says, “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him. I will guide him and restore comfort to him.”
He sees us. He sees us when we are detouring off the road. When our priorities are wrong. When we are chasing the meaningless. The empty. He sees us putting up obstacles. It enrages him. But because He loves us so much, even though He sees us, He still heals us. He will guide us back to the road. He will remove the obstacles and restore us. He will comfort us.
Build up! Build up! Prepare the road!
What are we building?