ROMANS 10:20

“And Isaiah is very bold and says, ‘I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I REVEALED MYSELF TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.’”

Some things are just easy to see. The love of a young couple who are enamored with each other. The beauty of a sunrise on a clear morning. The moon when it is at its fullest. These things are so clear. Anyone with any ability to see can view these. Some people think God is out of sight and unreachable. But Paul tells us something very different in today’s verse.

He goes back to the prophet Isaiah again and quotes from Isaiah 65:1-2. “‘I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, “Here am I, here am I,” to a nation which did not call on My name.’” Why do you think Paul has gone repeatedly to the Old Testament in chapter ten? He quotes from at least nine different passages in this chapter. Paul wanted the Jews to see that God has been giving the message of salvation for centuries and has opened it up to those outside the Jewish nation. This is why the Jews hated him so much.

APPLICATION

Paul says that Isaiah is “very bold.” That meant he had the guts to say what the Jews did not want to hear. Sometimes the truth hurts, doesn’t it? Paul was not trying to hurt anyone, but he was adamant about telling them the truth from God’s Word. In a way, Paul was showing the same daring that Isaiah showed in his day. Paul loved his countrymen and wanted them to come to Christ.

Paul uses the passage in Isaiah to show that the Gentiles were able to find God even when they were not looking. I am reminded of Matthew 7:7-8 where the same word for “find” is used. “7 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.’”

Our job as followers of Christ is to help everyone we can to find Jesus and experience His saving grace. Some people just take a gentle nudge. Others may take more effort. But the end result should be the same – helping them find salvation. God still wants to reveal Himself to everyone. I’ve said it before – God is not playing hide and seek. He is in plain sight. We just have to point people in the right direction. Will you join me in pointing?

O Lord, thank You for revealing Yourself so clearly to all who want to know You.

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