God is good even when I'm bad.

Recently I wrote about the many, many promises in the Bible given and fulfilled by God for his children. Well, I came across another one this morning and I simply must write about it.

In Isaiah 65, the Lord God Jehovah makes a most amazing promise to his people. He (God) said

I will provide for [your] needs BEFORE [you] ask AND I will help [you] WHILE [you] are still asking (verse 24).

Obviously, to make this passage personal for us, I've adjusted the pronouns however the point is still the same: God is ever-present in the minutia of our lives; SO present that he's answering BEFORE we're asking! But there's more.

Verse 24 is far more poignant when we read what was going on earlier in the chapter. In verse 12b-c, God says

I called you but you refused to answer.  I spoke to you but you wouldn't listen. You did things I said were evil and you chose to do things that displease me.

God's children were behaving badly. The list of their poor behavior is long.  But before we stand in judgment of their foolishness, remember that you and I behave badly too. Daily we do things that dishonor God's name; things that drag his glory through the mud. We let gossip slip from our lips and unforgiveness dwell in our hearts. We spend far too much time on social media yet say our lives are too busy to even manage a few minutes a day reading the Bible. We fail to stand up for righteousness in our offices and argue needlessly with our spouses. Yes, like those in Isaiah's time, our hands are no cleaner than those God was speaking to in verse 12. BUT, there's still more (and it's good news this time, I promise)!

In verse 17 God says

Look, I will make new heavens and a new earth AND people will not remember the past OR think about those things. There will never again be heard the sounds of crying and sadness (verse 19b) and I will make my people a delight (verse 18c). I will provide for their needs BEFORE they ask AND I will help them while they are still asking for help (verse 24). They will not hurt or destroy each other on my holy mountain (verse 25c).

OH MY!  I'm speechless and I hope you are too. What a merciful, faithful, forgiving, loving, holy God we serve (not to mention a God who serves us). He offers grace consistently and plans for our best in spite of our often bad behavior. Man I love him.