"For I will not contend forever ..." (Is 57:16 NASB)

The end of Isaiah chapter 57 shows that God wants to reach out to the meek but has reached his limit with the sinful. What is interesting is that he regards all of them as having sinned.

The one who God heals in verse 18 is the same one with whom he says in verse 17:
"Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
[then, in verse 18]
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore confort to him and to his mourners,"
Isaiah 57:17-18 (NASB)

God was upset with this individual because of the "iniquity of his unjust gain". Yet, God "will not contend forever, Nor will [He] always be angry" (Is 57:16 NASB).

This struck a strong chord with me as a father. Training a child in the way he should go is a lot of hard work. A child will learn but may be stubborn. A child will understand but still test to verify. A child will sometimes be ignorant despite our efforts to train and instruct.

When God looked down on his people he saw a people that would faint in front of him if he did not maintain mercy:
"For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
'I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.
For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry,
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.'"
Isaiah 57:15-16 (NASB)

God is considerate in his judgment.
God is merciful to the contrite & meek, even in the face of our problems.

This is what I need to do as a father. I must expect godly perfection and devotion, train toward that perfection and yet live with a merciful heart.

When God saw a meek heart in a sinner, it did not matter how far away they ran, but that they had a meek heart and wanted to love God still. We see this in the story of the Lost Son (Lu 15:11:-32).

For those who do not maintain this attitude, God does not have much compassion:
"'But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
There is no peace,' says my God, 'For the wicked.'"
Isaiah 57:17-18 (NASB)