SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 49:1-21
OBSERVATION:
A conversation between God and His messiah – He will be the Saviour of the world (v.6).
The day is coming when kings will bow to the messiah, when the messiah will be a new covenant, will feed the masses, lead them through barren places, have compassion on them, especially the weak/needy (vv.8-10).
God’s people express doubt, but God assures them that they are engraved on His hand/heart, He could never forget or abandon them.
The day is coming when the children will be restored (they were taken away by enemies as slaves), and there will be so many that there won’t be enough room!
APPLICATION:
It is comforting to think how close God keeps us in His heart, but therefore understandable that God’s people can wonder why He allows things to happen, even feel abandoned by Him.
My life at present is too easy and too good for me to relate to these words.
Jesus is the fulfillment of these words, a reminder to me now that God keeps His promises, though it takes so long to see it (see 2 Peter 3:3-9).
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for holding me in Your heart, for loving me enough to not leave me as I am. There are times when I get impatient, but at those times strengthen me in Your love, and to trust that one day You will make all things right! Amen.
I am always interested in the differences of perspective between man and God. Here we see this in this passage;
He (God) said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
But I said, “I have labored to no purpose;
I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.
He (God) says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
The Lord says, “Lift up your eyes and look around”
Application: Help me Lord realize that you see a bigger picture than what I am locked into. I see based on my emotions and circumstances. You see based on your great plan and will for my life. Help me to wait on You to see the outcome of Your work in me.
Your word says in Phillipians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Help me not to stop mid-process, but to have strength to wait until Your good work is completed!
This passage tells of God redeeming His people – the promises of His love – the promise of deliverance.
Man without God lives in darkness, but the Redeemed of the Lord are enlightened upon their way. Jesus Christ was sent as our Redeemer. He is my surety. He tells me to not only see the Light, but also be seen in the Light for His glory. As those in Christ live the Christian life, He will encourage me since He has given me His Spirit. As part of His people I need to stay diligent to my calling because my Hope is secure. In the darkness of the world today, I know that my name is engraved on the palms of His hands! I am alive because my Redeemer lives. Help me in my daily living for Jesus, Lord.
My life is in You, Lord
My strength is in You, Lord
My hope is in You, Lord
In You, it’s in You