The Trouble I’m In

 

The following is from the Great Experiment Blog, posted on Monday, March 4th:

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things.” – Isaiah 59:1-3

 

We underestimate the impact of sin in our lives and its impact on our prayer life. I underestimate the impact of my sin in my life and its impact on my prayers.

I have a lot of excuses for my sinfulness and a lot of ways to minimize the impact of my sin. “It’s really not as bad as it seems.” “It doesn’t have the impact that you might think.” “It’s just a little thing, compared to some of the really bad things that people do.” I’m not a bad person. I generally get it right. When you weigh the good against the bad it’s pretty clear that the good wins out [at least I like to think that it does].

God has a very different perspective. Sin is sin. The distinction we make between “big sins” and “little sins” is not a distinction that God makes. It’s all just sin. It’s not about the sins that have a big impact or the ones that have a small impact – all sin has the same impact. It separates us from God. Separated is separated. Hidden is hidden. Out of earshot is out of earshot (see verse 2).

When we struggle with our sin, we don’t need to do a little better. We need a complete makeover. We need our hands, and the rest of us, washed clean. We need a Savior. We need Jesus.

The hope we find is revealed in verse 1: “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” The Lord will save, the Lord will hear. He is waiting for us to call.

 

~Godspeed

*The Great Experiment is a 40-Day Journey of Discipleship that the people of First Saints are participating in during Lent. It involves prayer, scripture, small groups, tithing, ministry and acts of service. If you’d like to know more, leave me a message in the comments.