Isaiah 57:12-15

¹² I myself admit your righteousness and your works, but they are not to your advantage. ¹³ When you are crying out, let your collection deliver you, and a wind will carry all of them away; a breath will blow it away. But he who takes refuge in me will take possession of the land, and he will inherit my mountain of holiness. ¹⁴ And he will say, “Build it, build it! Clear a road! Remove that obstacle from the road for my people!” ¹⁵ Because this is what the high and lofty one who resides forever, and whose name is holy says: “I reside in a high and holy place, but also with the crushed and humble of spirit; I live to revive a humble spirit, and to revive a crushed heart.

he lives to revive

The centuries and millennia pass away as we read these words. The prophet Isaiah’s words from God are no different from the New Testament prophets and apostles. They all speak of a God who is so holy that even the righteous acts of his people do not move him. But he is moved by one thing in every generation. A humble spirit who seeks him. A heart crushed by her own sins, and desperate to build a road back to God. The good news from Isaiah is that reviving the repentant is what our great God lives for. Seek him today. Do not try to rest on your own acts of righteousness. They mean nothing.

LORD, we seek you. Show yourself to us in your word and your Son. Revive us!