“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

This week we’ve been talking about the lostness of man and how our sins separate us from a holy God. Today’s verse comes from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet who lived during the 700’s BC and served Judah during the reign of King Uzziah, King Jotham, King Ahaz, and King Hezekiah. He prophesied, sharing the words of God to the people of God, and called them back to repentance and truth.  

The people of Isaiah’s time had forgotten the one true God and had allowed their hearts to be turned toward sin and wickedness. Isaiah persisted for nearly 40 years in warning the nation of Judah that the punishment of God was upon them if they did not heed God’s commands. Unfortunately, we know they did not, and Judah eventually fell into captivity by the Babylonians.  

Isaiah rightly warned the people that their sins had caused a separation between them and God, literally that their sins had hidden God’s face from them. Ouch! That is a tough statement. But the weight of sin is a heavy one- something I think we all too often underestimate. See, Isaiah understood that a Holy God cannot be in close communion with sinful people. Sin literally divides us from the God we were created to be in union with. Sin is in direct opposition to Him- the antithesis of who God truly is. For God and sin to coexist is like asking heat and cold to reside in the same molecule, perfectly without changing temperature at all. Or for light and dark to share the same space without the light becoming darker or the darkness becoming lighter. It cannot be.

In the same way, God cannot be bound to sin. His goodness literally casts out sin! So, when the people of Judah chose sin over God, they chose to walk away from the God who loved them. They put up a separation between them and the eternal God.  

Like the people of God in Isaiah’s time, we too can put up a separation from God when we chose sin. Think of it this way. In Alaska in the summertime the sun is always up, and the light is constantly streaming in through the windows. So many people buy block-out curtains to put over their windows at night so they can create darkness inside and sleep better. While sleeping in the dark is not a bad thing, we can all agree that putting up the curtains does not stop the sun from shining. And those curtains represent a choice on our end to choose darkness.  

In the same way, sin puts up block-out curtains in our lives and blocks out the light of God. Sin doesn’t mean that God is any less light or any less good. But it is our choice to live in the darkness, hidden behind the curtains, ignoring the light. When we choose darkness over light, we are automatically separated from God. Period.  

One of the misconceptions that many people face is the idea of “riding the fence”. I know I bought that lie for a period of my life. I convinced myself that I wasn’t actually choosing the darkness, but I was just riding the fence- standing in the middle, one foot in the world of sin and one foot in the world of God. But here is the truth- there is no partiality with God. The fence is a lie. You cannot hold onto sin and hold onto God at the same time. And unlike block-out curtains, you cannot just shut the curtain of sin part way and choose a little light and a little dark. It doesn’t work that way.  

As people of God, we have to be willing to tear the curtains down, get rid of anything in our lives that separate us from God. Sometimes that means letting go of an idol, a relationship that is pulling us from God, that show that we know we shouldn’t watch but we just can’t seem to let go of, or that habit that keeps pulling us in. It means surrendering our whole lives- not just the pretty parts- to God fully, asking Him to shine light on any darkness we have. Sometimes it means leaning in when you want to run away, confessing when you want to keep silent, or asking for forgiveness even when it is hard.  

This week, I challenge you to ask God to show you where you’ve put up the “block-out curtains” and allowed anything to separate you from Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to clean house and show you the darkness that you have let reside unknown or unacknowledged. Let’s choose the light. Let’s choose to tear the curtains down and commit to never put them back up again.

Lord,

As David cried out to You thousands of years ago, I cry out again. Search me and know me. See if there is any darkness or sin that has taken up residence in my life. Root out that darkness. And lead me on the way everlasting. I want YOUR light Jesus. Only your light.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen