Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: September 11

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” ~ Isaiah 64:6

Some who read this book will be shocked that I [Eugenia Price, the author] have placed this verse among our “green stones.” If you are shocked or even surprised, the Lord has a lovely surprise of His own in store for you. Do you hate mention of your “iniquities”? Do you loathe thinking of yourself as “an unclean thing”? Do you feel your righteousnesses are not all quite as undesirable as “filthy rags”?

Have you recoiled from this painfully blunt verse? If you are attempting to follow one or another of the so-called “new thought” schools, were you told over and over again that all good is in you and your part is to affirm it, et cetera, et cetera, then I can easily understand why this is a repugnant verse to you. You’ve been nurturing your pride so carefully, its muscles have become quite strong and able to resist any “insult” to your “good name.”

But, our “good name” is not what matters! Only the name of God. Our righteousnesses are beside the point, as well as being “filthy rags.” Our iniquities “have taken us away” from God and nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ can bring us back again. Be open to the words of God, and not the words of a school of pacifying thought. God says, “All have sinned,” and until we see this and embrace it and allow our hearts to be cleansed by the blood that flowed from Jesus’ heart on the Cross, we have nothing about which to rejoice. If you are trying to kid yourself about your “innate goodness,” weep! But weep in His presence, and He will take you sin and give you His righteousness.

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.”