Tenderhearted?

This morning as I read Isaiah 10:1-11, I see a side of God that has always been obvious to me, but not specific. Verses 1-2 identify the tenderheartedness of God, "Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed Isa 10:2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless." As mentioned before, I have always known that God is tenderhearted and it really goes without saying much, but what was not obvious to me, was who He is tenderhearted toward? Is He tenderhearted toward the proud and arrogant? Not really. Look at the Hebrews, they were in the midst of being chastised (corrected) for being arrogant, prideful, self-sufficient and idolaters and just plain heathenism. Try not to confuse tenderhearted with being full of grace and even merciful. Because it was by grace and mercy that God actually chastised the Israelite's. He could have just wiped them off the face of the earth and forgotten all about them. But He didn't. What or who He was tenderhearted toward was the needy, the weak the ones at disadvantage, the ones who had infirmaries, without husbands and fathers. He was tenderhearted toward them because they too like the arrogant mass had to suffer through the chastisement of God because of being part of the entire congregation. God did not spare the weak and needy from correction.

However, He was tender toward them and ensured that they were not to be prey among the predators who would take advantage of their plight. Why do you think that was so? Without question, His wisdom exceeds the thoughts of mankind and surely surpasses this writers limited supply of logic and reasoning. It appears that His tender nature is bent toward the weak and needy, the poor, the wretched, the underdog, the disadvantaged. Why else would He had even chose Abraham. He was called away from his home, took care a band of misfit relatives (Lot's family), had a barren wife, had a hard time reconciling the truth of God's word (Lying and misinterpreting God's promise). Nevertheless, God chose him to be the father of a multitude of misfits, liars, murderers, idol worshipers; as well as, outcasts, slaves, humbled and humiliated. These children of a impoverished nation went from being slaves to a mighty force as often as one changes his own socks. But what seemed to spawn forgiveness and a sense of protection and a need to coddle was not when they were boastful and mighty, but when they were poor and lowly.

In this setting of Isaiah, nearly the entire nation (both North and South Kingdoms) were completely oblivious to God and His love toward them. But there remained a remnant of not just the poor, widows and orphans, but a remnant of the needy and the weak. God was not going to allow the tools of turmoil (Assyria) to manipulate His will of correction. God was going to protect the remnant...not from correction, but from being prey. God was going to let the proud be the prey, but the remnant would be under His wings. Meaning the needy and the weak would, in spite of suffering correction would still be welcomed in His presence and have His protection.

Today, we live in a society of pride and self sufficiency. I see it not only in the world, but in the church. We hear messages about being deserved of His glory, being proud of His calling and His gifts; being steadfast more in nation and the church than in the glory of His presence. His presence is resistant to pride. 1 Peter 5:5 says, " Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (NKJV) We can take lessons from this verse. We want God to be tenderhearted toward us, but do we need to make changes in our hearts and our minds in order for that to happen? If you look back into the 1st few chapters of Isaiah you will understand that all of their suffering and chastisement happened because they were "self-sufficient". The Greek word for "resist" is Antitasso: -meaning, opposes on self or set against. So God is opposed and set against the proud, the self-sufficient. Do we want God to be tenderhearted toward us? Nothing godly becomes of self-sufficiency! Will I experience grace and mercy if I don't? Well, yes of course you will, but will He be tenderhearted toward you?

Truthfully, God is not looking for the perfect believer, one who always wins, but He is looking for weak, the broken, the needy, the insufficient, the humble, the unfortunate, the ignorant and the outcast. These are the ones whom He can use to carry out the gospel of the One who became a curse by hanging on a tree. Who was spat upon, beaten, had no place to lay His own head, rejected by His own neighbors, betrayed and denied. He was forsaken, not only by His people, but even by the Heavenly Father. This writer so wants to be used by God, but my mind wants to list the qualifications, but the heart realizes that only He is qualified to be worthy of any glory. Any glory that we might want to receive, should be laid at His feet and stay in a place of humility and humbleness, a place of tenderness. Tenderness is the place where we not only feel His presence, but hear His voice in the midst of life. Its the place where we hear Him say, "Be still and know that I am God", its the place where we gravitate toward hope because we know the, "He will never leave us nor forsake us". The self-sufficient cannot find this place.

In conclusion, have you found this place? Have you found yourself in the shadow of His wings? Stop trying to be perfect, because the root of perfection is self-sufficiency. Find yourself in a place of desperation, a place of need and even recognize the weaknesses and allow His tenderness to influence you to be tenderhearted toward Him. In tenderheartedness, you'll find true repentance and forgiveness, you will be influenced by His Spirit to sanctify yourself (set apart) from the self-sufficient attitudes. This is an ongoing lifestyle in a relationship with a tender God who has a tender heart. My your hearts and minds be tender toward Him because you have seen His tenderness toward you.