Category: Devotional Thoughts

Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”
-Isaiah 29:15

I imagine that most of us have seen night vision goggles on television or in the movies. This technology began several years ago, but has now developed into something remarkable. Night vision is now frequently used by the US military. The reason is simple–the ability to see in the dark is a significant advantage, and enemies may attempt to use the cover of night to their own advantage. Everything from lions to soldiers use darkness to secretly launch attacks.

Darkness is often used in the Bible to symbolize evil or spiritual blindness (see the first chapter of John’s gospel). Isaiah is also using “darkness” in a figurative sense here.

As I’ve mentioned before, the people of Isaiah’s day wanted to have the appearance of obeying God, but they did not want to truly honor Him with their lives. God was calling out those who acted one way when they were “in the light” (visible to everyone), yet acted completely differently when they were “in the darkness” (when they thought they were hidden).

I gave this devotional a rather ridiculous title (or a ridiculous question). Our behavior, however, can be just as ridiculous. If we are not careful, we can easily forget that God sees us at all times. Not only does He see everything we do, he even “sees” into our minds and hearts (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

Here’s a few questions that I would like you to consider (I ask myself similar questions, too):

*Are you the same person even when your parents are not watching you?

*Do you have a “secret” life that others do not know about?

*Do you entertain thoughts that are dishonoring to God?

The fact that God is watching us should not be considered as something negative. He invites us to be aware of His presence every moment. The fact that He sees us can bring great joy. God notices an act of kindness, for example, even if no one else noticed or bothered to say “thank you.”

We should always be living for an audience of one. He sees everything–I pray that we will try to live in such a way as to bring honor and glory to Him.

Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
-Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

I have a plan for the whole earth,
a hand of judgment upon all the nations.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—
who can change his plans?
When his hand is raised,
who can stop him?
-Isaiah 14:26-27

The picture posted here is a tragic example of a train/auto accident. According to the news article, the truck was pushed for almost have a mile before finally falling off the tracks. Both people in the truck were killed instantly. A car or truck of any size is simply no match for a train. Once a train gets going, you had better get out of its way.

God made a similar warning through Isaiah. He made some astounding predictions of judgment to the mightiest nations of the world. I’m sure it was hard to believe that such powerful armies could be defeated. God’s response was something like this: “my will is like a freight train—once I start my plan, nothing will stop it.”

Planning against God is even more foolish than stopping your car on railroad tracks. As foolish as this is, we are sometimes guilty of doing it. Here are some examples of how we put ourselves in danger:

*God warns us of the consequences of sin, but we continue to sin anyway.

*God calls us to respond immediately, but we say “I’ll respond to God some other time when I’m ready.”

*God calls us to do something, but we ignore His call and to things our way.

God graciously invites us to join His plan of redemption for the world. You can choose to join Him or you can ignore Him and make a “train wreck” of your life. His plan will happen with or without you. The choice is yours.