For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated …” (Isaiah 57:15)
Where in this vast, treacherous world does God live?
Lanky, afro headed Michael dropped out of high school, stole blankets from the orphanage, then fled to Harare, Zimbabwe. After weeks of sniffing glue on the street, Michael knew he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. He returned and begged forgiveness. On condition that he would repay the stolen articles, we allowed him to come home and resume school. Days later, he asked to be baptized, and a potent dose of Jehovah rushed into his prodigal son.
1,500 children spilled beyond a purple, red, and green striped tent during an outreach in Thiruvallur, India. After songs, skits, and a gospel message, twenty kids crowded to the front. Little brown hands clasped and faces squinted in prayer for salvation. There wasn’t a proud heart among the young converts, and God exploded into their lives.
Dani’s father, Dave, was in his mid fifties when his life imploded. Three marriages, several lawsuits, and various intoxicants had all failed him. His current mistress, gin, was treating him badly, but wouldn’t let him go. He asked Dani to help him turn to God and detoxify. The two of them lived through a hellish week.
The world used its sharpest knifes to gut the joy out of Dave, but Jesus moved into the empty shell, and those of us close to Dave saw God Almighty up close.
It’s in the broken, dependent soul that we find God pressing into every corner. He still lives in our damaged world—laughing from his hiding place inside the humble heart.
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Prayer: Mighty God, come dwell in my brokenness. |