Awake and Sing, You Who Dwell in Dust

Your dead shall live;
Together with my dead body they shall arise.
Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
(Isa 26:19)

There are times when our efforts to change for the better seem futile, when the standard “formula” to becoming more spiritual does not seem to work. There are times when our inability to reject the lusts of the flesh seem to bear down on us until we feel like giving up the fight. This verse tells us that though we dwell in dust by being confined to the weaknesses of our physical bodies, we still can “awake and sing” through the power of spiritual resurrection.

God does not look down on us because we are weak. “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Ps 103:14). We are often like prodigal sons who succumb to our own desires and insist on our own ways, but God never gives us up. He waits for us to return–He looks beyond our faults and provides for our needs.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:14-16)

Indeed, we dwell in the dust, and God knows. He wants us to awake, rise up, and sing. Awake to what? Awake to our weaknesses, but also to God’s heart. Awake to know that we still have hope.

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Rom 6:14)

Realizing our weaknesses and our helplessness is not a curse, but a blessing. The danger lies only in being unaware that we still walk in darkness. Truly, God’s grace is made perfect in our weaknesses! It is through realizing our need for Him and His grace that we return. Rather than giving up on spiritual cultivation, let us draw the closer to Him. Allow Him to mold us, train us, and uphold us. Let us experience the abundance of His power to transform our hearts to become like His own. May we all awake and sing the glorious song of victory.

He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:9-10)

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