How Long?

Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered:  Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate…

Isaiah 6:11

Isaiah had a discouraging road ahead of him. He was preaching during a period of spiritual decline in the history of Israel. God gave him a message, much of which, was not overwhelmingly encouraging. As we read the rest of his prophecy there is a strong evangelical theme to it, but some parts of his message are rather dire. The implications of the previous verses to our text indicate his message would not be well received. While this in itself was not encouraging, it did not change his assignment. The messenger does not choose the message, nor deliver it only if the reception is a good one. Having established that his ministry would not be easy. Isaiah asks the natural question, ‘How long?’ The answer is our text. In other words, ‘just keep preaching until everyone is gone into captivity.’ What can we gain from this? Our proclaiming of Christ may not be well received or widely accepted. We may be called upon to make Him known in a declining spiritual atmosphere. We are called to be faithful to proclaim Christ.

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we rejoice that Christ is the Good News.
We praise You that we have the opportunity to proclaim Him,
even in dire circumstances.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning