Have you ever felt beaten, if not literally then figuratively?  Have you ever felt as the Israelites must have when Isaiah penned the above scripture?  I believe we have all felt that way at one time or another in our lives.  But have you ever noticed that some people actually seem to live their whole lives that way–going from one disastrous crisis to the next, almost as if they look for trouble?  Maybe you are one of those people.  What, do you suppose causes this?  Isaiah 1:5-6 gives us a big clue.

I believe there is a very good lesson in this piece of scripture for all of us.  When things go from bad to worse in our lives, it is time for us to examine ourselves spiritually.  What, if anything, are we doing (or not doing) which is displeasing to God?  This would be the rebellion Isaiah speaks of in verse 5.  Do we persist in our rebellion by refusing to change an area of our lives which God is urging us to correct?  If so, we are “cruising for a bruising” again and again.

God loves us enough to do whatever it takes in order to get our attention.  Perhaps we should “wise up,” get rid of our rebellion and stop “cruising for a bruising,” so that, as in verse 6, God will cleanse, bandage and sooth our wounds, welts and open sores. 

Copyright © 1998 Kimberly B. Southall.  All rights reserved.