He Knows Our Limits

“For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.” (Isa 57:16 AV)

 

Verse fifteen is well quoted.  The LORD tells Isaiah, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isa 57:15 AV) We often apply verse fifteen to teach a precondition for walking with God.  That precondition is to be contrite over one’s sin.  This is a proper application.  God seeks to walk with those who are honest about who and what they are before the holiness of God.  He does not wish to dwell with the proud and deceptive.  Then we see the verse above.  Because the saint is contrite over his sin, the LORD will not contend over that sin forever.  Even if it is well deserved.  The reason for the promise is found in the second half of the verse.  If the LORD were to contend equal to our sin, then our spirits and souls would fail.  We would faint.  We would be dissolved.  In other words, what we see above is the balance between God’s justice and mercy.  He knows our limits.  Even though our limits are less than our sin deserves, in His mercy, He shows grace when He could show justice.

Over the years, we have had several type of dog breeds.  Our first dog was a chocolate springer spaniel.  We had to give him to a junk yard because whatever that dog was mixed with made him extremely unstable.  We replaced him with an elderly retriever mix that ended up passing away two months later.  Then came our first real dog.  He was a small beagle mix.  We called him Philo after a shortened Greek word in the book of Acts that meant kindly affectionate.  He loved to lick faces.  We had to move so we gave Philo away.  When we were able to have dogs again, my son wanted a hunting dog.  We got a fox hound pup.  That dog was fixated on anything living that moved.  He would set in front of our glass patio doors and watch the birds, squirrels, and rabbits.  A bit high strung, we decided to get a second dog to see if he would calm down.  Along came our black lab mix.  He was terrified of everything.  Kimber never did effect Camo in a positive way, but Camo was able to give poor neurotic Kimber a bit of confidence.  Now, we are enjoying our last dog.  He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  The perfect lap dog.  The thing about all these breeds is their response to correction.  The chocolate springer never did heed correction.  The Cavalier, on the other hand, doesn’t need a whole lot of stern correction.  We have to be very careful with the Cavalier lest he become afraid and not respond to our correction.  Our black lab, Kimber, had a broken spirit.  He spent the vast amount of his time hiding in is cage.  He rarely interacted with his human pack.  He was a rescue so we can only surmise what might have happened.  It is sad to see an animal whose spirit is broken.  The Cavalier has that potential.  So, knowing his limits is extremely important.  It would be very cruel to chasten him to the point he ceases to be a Cavalier and is nothing more than an animal without personality.

We are not dogs.  But we are God’s creation.  He is our Master.  But of a different kind.  The mercy which a conscientious dog owner shows towards his dog is somewhat similar to the kindness and mercy God shows towards His creation.  He does not desire to break us beyond our capability to have a relationship with Him.  That would be unkind.  It may be justified, but it undermines the very purpose for our creation.  God created us to walk with Him by faith and obedience.  If we are broken, then we will have no desire to walk with anyone; let alone God.  Our gracious Father knows this.  He will correct us to the level we can endure it.  He is looking for a contrite heart and spirit.  Not a broken one.  This truth should bring great comfort to our hearts.  In our lifetime, we probably had an authority figure or two who didn’t understand this principle.  A parent, teacher, coach, spiritual leader, etc., who may have had in his or her heart the objective of breaking the spirit.  They can be cruel.  But God is not.  He is not after our dissolution.  He is after a softened heart that will love Him and desire to walk with Him.  He is not looking for a beleaguered heart.  He is looking for a heart that understands one’s failures and appreciates the grace of God which restores it.  This is the mercy of God.  This is the grace of God.