Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.I don't know about you, but the availability of God is a big thing for me. I want to believe that God is always there. I would like to dial up God, no matter what time or day, and to know that He would always answer my call. I don't know about you, but it would disturb me if I called on God only to receive a "busy" signal. That would be really discouraging. And yet, these first eight words seem to promote a God who just might be on vacation when we finally decide to seek Him out. Could that be right?
The verse continues by saying, "while He is near." Listen, not only is the availability of God a big thing for me, but equally so, God's very presence. Again, this verse tends to promote a God who may not always be near to us. Could that be right?
So what's up? Comfort or discouragement? If you're like me, there are times that I totally lose site of this amazing God who gives all men/women life, and breath, and everything. When this happens in my life, I quickly lose dialogue with my God, and of course, I fail to seek Him out. Why should I? I have everything under control, yes? Who needs God's presence? Why bother Him? And this exactly what God is sharing with Isaiah. God is certainly present. God is certainly near. But there is no "matching" going on in this relationship. There is a lack of connection.
This verse is built on satire. It's like someone rudely bumping into you, but instead, to be polite, you say to them, "Oh. Excuse me." In a similar fashion, what I believe God is saying in this verse is this, "Excuse me. I might have missed you seeking Me. Are you still around?"
Maybe this verse reflects both comfort and discouragement. Comfort that we have a God who is at least willing to wake us up a bit and to point out His presence in our lives. And yet, discouraging, that we often neglect his presence and fail to "match up" in a relational way with Him.
Short verse - but big implications.
