Happy day-after-blowing-the-diet-on-grilled-and/or-smoked-meat (in-the-USA) Saturday, friends!
I’m down a little over 20 pounds in the past couple of months, but I didn’t even get on the scale this morning!
(For my readers outside the USA, hang with me for a couple of paragraphs)
Yesterday was a day of celebration for some, a day of anxiety for others, and a day of mixed emotions for many who are proud and grateful for our heritage but concerned and frustrated about much of our current reality and direction.
You may count me in that third category.
(That’s the end of my USA specific portion)
This morning I read Isaiah 35. I can’t read it without remembering one of my all time favorite anthems that I’ve sung with the Singing Men of Texas: “Your God Will Come.”
No matter where we are in the world, hands and feet are feeble and unsteady. Hearts are fearful and melting. Questions and uncertainties abound.
We need to know that God has not forgotten or abandoned us.
We need to know that there is eternal hope, even if we don’t see results in our lifetime.
God WILL COME to set things right. Fully and completely.
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isaiah 35:1-10).
This is obviously a poetic expression, filled with metaphor, of an eschatological hope—when God comes to renew all things.
Our New Testament understanding helps us to see that as the second coming of Jesus.
But what about the meantime?
Here are some thoughts:
We pray for God’s intervention in our moments.
We set our hearts, minds, and hands on cooperating with His Kingdom purposes—doing His will and work on earth as it is in heaven.
We resist injustice in all forms whether we’re directly affected or not.
We find ways to “neighbor” those who are pushed aside by those who are keen on empire building.
We NEVER presume that God is on our side, but continue to passionately pursue His side.
We remember that every kingdom, empire, nation, and power has a “shelf life” except the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, we never give our ultimate allegiance to any kingdom but His.
Your. God. Will. Come.
Be amazing today, my friend.
