Have you been waiting for something to happen, or healing to take place, whether physical, emotional or relational, and it seems as if nothing is happening or that God seems to be hard of hearing?
Well, sis, today you are in good company because I can so relate. And dare I say that the Lord revealed to me, in His Word, some insight into why we may not have received our healing yet, through this month’s scripture focus. Perhaps, we may be the ones who aren’t hearing, seeing or understanding Him.
Listen hard, but you aren’t going to get it; look hard, but you won’t catch on. Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, So they won’t see a thing, won’t hear a word, So they won’t have a clue about what’s going on and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.”
Isaiah 6:9-10, the message
Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to Me for healing.
isaiah 6:9-10, Nlt
The Lord gave this message to the prophet Isaiah to go and tell His people, after Isaiah answered the call and was willing to be sent as God’s messenger. As I was reading this chapter recently, I began to apply this to my own life. It would be easy to look at what the children of Israel were doing and automatically criticize them for their behavior, lest we put our own selves in the chapter and find we may be guilty of some of the same things. The reason you may have not received your healing yet may be because you have ears, but are not hearing, eyes but you are not really seeing and a heart that is void of understanding.
Before I unpack and connect this, let me backtrack to the beginning of the chapter where Isaiah was when he saw the Lord, in order to highlight a few things.
In His Presence
It was here, in the Lord’s presence, that Isaiah became aware of and acknowledged his true state–that he was “a man with unclean lips” (v. 5) and the state of his environment, “I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips” (v.5). It was here in the Lord’s presence that Isaiah saw the King, the Lord of hosts.
Repentance
Once Isaiah recognized his wretched state, he confessed it and he was cleansed. In the Lord’s presence, not only can we recognize our true state, in light of the One who is high and lifted up with the train of His robe filling the temple (v.1 ), but it’s also where we can repent so we, too, can be cleansed. When the seraphim touched Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal, his guilt was immediately taken away and his sins forgiven (v. 7).
Calling
“Then I heard the Lord asking” (v. 8). In the Lord’s presence, Isaiah was now in a position to not only acknowledge his sinful state, repent, and be cleansed, but he was able to hear the Lord clearly in order to answer the call as His messenger. “Here I am. Send me.” (v. 8)
So what does this all have to do with one’s hearing, seeing, heart and healing? When Isaiah was able to truly see the Lord, hear Him, and understand Him, i.e. his heart wasn’t hardened, but humbled in His presence, Isaiah received his healing. He was able to respond to what he heard and obey the Lord.
The problem with the Israelites, and sometimes, our problem as well, is disobedience, which is a hindrance to healing. The children of Israel’s refusal to obey and “walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:5) was God’s charge against them. They had rejected the Lord (Isaiah 2:6), which led to hardened hearts–a heart void of understanding or hearts that become dull. If one’s heart is dull, his/her hearing will be affected and so will his/her sight. If we trace this process backward, the NKJV says it like this:
“Make the heart of this people dull,
Isaiah 6:10, NKJV
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”
See. Hear. Understand. Return. Be healed.
I haven’t received my healing because I haven’t understood with my heart (my heart is hardened and dull) due to disobedience or rejecting the Lord in some way. Not only is my heart now affected, but my ears have become heavy so I can’t really hear and I have shut my eyes so that I can’t see.
This month, as you get in His presence and really see Him, as well as your current condition, may He reveal anything that you may need to repent for so that you can be cleansed. Ask the Lord to give you spiritual sight to see, spiritual ears to hear and a heart that isn’t hardened, but postured in a place to understand, so that you can turn to Him and receive your healing.
Do you need to let go of a specific way of thinking? Do you need to change your attitude toward something or someone? Do you need to learn how to wait well? Whatever He asks you to do, be obedient and may “your healing spring forth speedily.” (Isaiah 58:8, NKJV).
Genesis 2:22, NLT
Scripture references: The Holy Bible (NLT, NKJV, The Message)
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LET’S STAY CONNECTED:
Lady In Waiting 222 