Contrition and Consecration
“I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:16
March 2
Invisible qualities of the heart imperceivable by men are inquisitively weighed and measured by the Lord. It brings us great comfort to know that the Lord’s measure of a man is not according to his talents or any of his great accomplishments. Lowliness and poverty of spirit, humility, and contrition before Him are the gems which He seeks to collect, polish, and preserve. His promise is to be near to the contrite ones, to draw near to the humble and resist the proud. Here God has given us a precious and exceedingly hope filled promise. He promises revival for the broken hearted, He will not leave us in the dust and ashes of contrition but has promised to raise us up into new life with Him. The shaking of the Holy Spirit has crushed us under the conviction of our own sin thoroughly devastating all our pretentious false piety in order that a new foundation might be established in our lives on His solid unfailing grace. An earthquake that caused extreme devastation in Turkey and Syria completely destroyed many regions, but it spared the town of Erzin entirely. The mayor of this town was pedantic in assuring that all buildings were built according to certain standards and established on strong foundations that would withstand such an event. Nearby towns that were not built with such rigorous attention were entirely devastated leaving countless perishing under the rubble. Has the shaking in your life revealed cracks in your foundations and exposed your dwelling as insecure? God has allowed this for the purpose of awakening you to move into a more secure dwelling. Brokenness over sin must precede such revival. Recognition of God’s holiness through the demonstration of God’s love at the cross will break the heart, but the Lord will not leave it broken. This breaking is necessary for regeneration. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up and immediately fell down prostrate declaring his own uncleanness, but the Lord did not leave him there. The Lord attended to him by cleansing his sinfulness, purging his uncleanness and consecrating his life for His purpose. Isaiah then declared, “Here I am send me!”. (Isaiah 6:8) Contrite hearts, be revived by His grace and abide on this secure higher ground that is consecrated unto Christ.
Daily Prayer
Weigher of the thoughts and intents of the heart,
offerings of my greatest accomplishment do
not impress you in the slightest.
You value brokenness, favor the humble and
bless those who are poor in spirit.
Masquerading false piety does not fool you,
for you see the deepest realities of my heart.
Shaking in my life has revealed weaknesses in
the construction of my soul’s foundations.
Re-establish my confidence on the higher
consecrated ground of your grace that the
sanctuary of your praise would be firmly
established and remain forever within me.