June 9: The Lord Will Guide You Continually

 

By: Dr. Alicia Valasse-Polius 

Odsan SDA Church; St. Lucia 

Here are a few things about pretense. Pretense is an offspring of deceit and deceit is of the devil (Revelation 12:9). We cannot pretend forever. Poorly-executed pretense will be easily perceived, and whereas the skilled pretender may fool humans, no one can fool God.

No one - not even the Israelites and their performance of religious rituals in the initial verses of Isaiah 58. 

You see reader, exile of any kind can be rough, inducing doubt amidst adversity. It can either birth a champion or draw you away from God. Returning from exile can be worse. Identity may be questioned. There may be uncertainty, and rebuilding may be seen as a burden. Fear of judgement and failure may also emerge. In such an atmosphere, problems can arise - as in the case of Israel, fresh from Babylonian captivity. Problem: Shallow worship and rehearsed acts of godliness were now widespread among God’s people. God’s people wanted God to notice how prayerful they were, how reverent they were and the way they fasted and prayed. Fast forward 2026. They want God to notice the church offices they hold, the number of church committees they sit on, the number of programmes they organise, how often they attend church, the sacrifices they make, the number of Prayer Walks they have. 

Bottomline - they wanted notice:

“Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul; and thou takest no knowledge?” (Isaiah 58:3).

But the all-knowing God knows better (1 John 3:20). He can see through empty ritualistic acts and he can categorise every appearance “of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5). So, he commands the prophet - Cry aloud! Cry aloud against every religious activity that is void of the Holy Spirit. Cry aloud because God is not impressed if we deprive ourselves of food and pray … and yet mistreat others and quarrel among ourselves:

“Behold ye fast for strife and debate and to smite with the fist of wickedness…will thou call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?” (Isaiah 58: 4 - 5). This is unacceptable worship. True and acceptable worship is to “loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, deal thy bread to the hungry and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house” (Isaiah 58: 6 -7). True and acceptable worship to God considers others more than self. It allows the worshipper to display God’s loving nature even when seated at the “table in the presence of enemies” (Psalm 23:5). True and acceptable worship happens with the putting away of strife, injustice, petty jealousies and bitterness among brothers and sisters (Ephesians 4:31). In contrast, unacceptable worship happens when we “lift up holy hands” while regarding “iniquity in our hearts”, practicing injustice, embracing selfish motives and maintaining a stance of unforgiveness against our brother - individual and corporate. (Micah 3:2-5; Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 1:15).

Our God desires acceptable worship. When God’s people align their worship with compassion, selflessness, social justice, goodness and genuineness, true worship happens. And when true worship happens, continual divine blessings follow and dramatic restoration happens:

“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily…then shall thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shall cry, and he shall say, Here I am.” (Isaiah 58: 8 - 9).

Then comes the ultimate promise - Isaiah 58:11. When we are obedient and cast away unacceptable worship, the Lord promises guidance “continually”, satisfaction of our souls “in drought” and the fattening of our bones. We “shall be like a watered garden…like a spring of water whose waters fail not”.

Such a profound thread of blessings …if only we would reject hollow worship.