Thoughts and Prayers Pt II

...  call upon him while he is near.

 - From Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55 is a great passage full of optimism and promise. 

It is certain: God's plan will be completed. His Word is like seed. He speaks, and it goes forth. It is planted in the ground, in a process that is disruptive to the soil. At the micro level, the ground is churned up, violently, causing havoc to countless microscopic ecosystems. Rain waters come, and choke out billions of lives while enriching the soft loam. What kills over here, brings life over there . . . yet even the organisms killed benefits from the continuous cycle.

The sun begins to provide it's energy to the budding life, which enlivens the growth process and creates new essential nutrients. But in so doing, the soil is dried and hardened, which makes life impossible for other members of the biome . . . for now.

But the end is life . . . Life. Universal, neverending Life. To understand God's plan, just look at the rain cycle. Or really, anything in Nature. It is one way in which He instructs us.

Thoughts and Prayers work. But Isaiah pleads with us to ask God, and seek Him out, when He's near. This means there are times when He is not near. Our hearts have to be ready and open. Our ears must be listening, and our hands and feet must be ready to go where He leads, and do what He directs.

Just as God can be near to a person, so can He be near to a nation. 

Is our nation open to God? Would He draw near to us now, when we need Him the most? Or do we hear, more clearly, the words of people like Neal deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, or that super popular high school teacher that always hashtags "Thoughts and Prayers don't work"?

Who are we hearing? deGrasse Tyson feels welcome and empowered across the fruited plane. 

But does God?

Even if God is not near . . . let us at least act as if He is. Because where He is, or whatever He is doing . . . His plan is clearly, constantly, being rolled out.