Isaiah 28:12-13 God’s people could have rest in their own land if they would only obey him, but they will not listen. So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, repeating it over and over, a line at a time, in very simple words. Yet they will stumble over this simple, straightforward message… Do you get the feeling that Isaiah, the author, is frustrated with Israel? It’s like when someone just isn’t getting it so you speak in very small, simple words so they understand. I think it’s funny (and sad) that God will spell it out, one line at a time, in very simple words. It’s great phrasing! But the message is sad. Even with God making it so easy to understand, they still don’t get it. It’s not that they can’t get it, they choose not to. He says they will not listen. “Can’t” implies that it’s not physically possible, but “will not” indicates that they just don’t want to. In the end, how often do we take something that was meant to be simple and make it far more complicated that it should be? I know I do… a lot, sadly. The first part of the verse made me think about the situation that John and I find ourselves in financially. I wonder how much of our situation is that we’re not listening or obeying in some areas in our lives. I know that in this situation we are definitely working on living within our means, but I wonder if there’s another, more subtle area that we’re missing. Is there a message God is trying to get through to us, and if we’d just listen and obey would we finally find a path out of this hole? If there is, I wish He’d make His voice a little louder so I can figure it out. I really want to get through this particular valley. It feels like we’ve been here for so long without a break and it’s getting tougher and tougher. And while I was writing that I was thinking that this burden is too heavy. And that made me think, “Why am I carrying a burden? Doesn’t God say to give those burdens to Him because He can carry any load?” I guess I tend to try and sort out all this stuff on my own (controlling the situation, maybe?). I need to remind myself to let it go and let God carry it and take care of it.