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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new
and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and
reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and
a gale will blow them away.”
But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
“The poor and needy search for water, but there
is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer
them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on
barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into
pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the
cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the
wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may
consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy
One of Israel has created it.”
Isaiah 41:15-20
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
So far in the 41st chapter of the
Book of Isaiah, we have been reminded by the word of God that it is the Lord
God Almighty who has been there through all our times of life, good and bad,
leading us, helping us, and blessing us through our experiences and
circumstances. We have also been reminded that we are servants chosen by the
Lord to do His work here on earth, personally selected by Him to make disciples
and help others find their way to salvation. Finally, we have learned that we
are not sent to do the Lord’s work alone for He is always with us, helping us as
we live this thing called life in obedience to His will and way.
In other words, we have been given
nothing but good news to revel and celebrate in, reminded of the goodness and
power of a God who is with us and able to do all things for us.
Is there anything else that could
bring us to a greater feeling of rejoicing and praise, to a plain where we give
the Lord God Almighty all of our honor and glory?
The answer, of course, is a
resounding “NO”!
For we have no one in our life who
can do what the Lord can do. No one. And if we really take account of all the
things He has brought us through, never discounting or taking anything for
granted, then it’s easy to come to a place where we revere and exalt God and
God alone.
This is the theme of our scripture
verses today as we continue to look into Isaiah 41. Look again at these words:
“See,
I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You
will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You
will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away.”
But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
“The
poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched
with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not
forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the
valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground
into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and
the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress
together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that
the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
vv. 15-20
Note here two reminders about the
Lord who is ever with us.
First, He grants us power and
strength to do amazing things, things we could never possibly do on our own.
Here, Israel will be equipped by God to go up against its enemies and easily
find victory, no matter how insurmountable the odds might be. Renewed and
empowered after their return from exile, new and sharp with many teeth, Israel
will be able to thresh the mountains and crush them, to reduce the hills to
mere chaff until their remains are easily blown away and they are no more.
God gives us the strength and power
to overcome our adversities and adversaries. This is the truth we receive here
from the word of God and with that, we should be in a spirit of thanksgiving
and gratitude, rejoicing and glorifying the Lord for all He was, all He is, and
all He is yet to be. He is with us and because of that, no one can stand
against us (Romans 8:31). Shout out a hallelujah or two for that!
The second reminder is that the
Lord God Almighty is our Great Provider and Rescuer. For when we are in our
place of deepest need, we can always find Him there with us, in the dark,
empty, dry spots of our lives where we thirst for assistance, deliverance, and direction
toward better days. He is always with us to bring just not regular, earthly
water that nourishes and sustains us, water that washes us and refreshes our
bodies, but also living water that once within us brings us life eternal (John
4:1-16). This living water flows within the barren spots within one’s very soul
and brings life where there was once desert, making a disciple from a deserter.
The Lord meets us where we are and
provides for our needs, physically and spiritually. His hand is always upon us
and His Spirit is always there to guide us and comfort us every second of every
minute of every hour of every day we are given. All we need to do is stay in
fellowship with Him, ever seeking His will and way for us and then doing what
we have to do to ensure that will and way is carried out.
Friends, through the Lord God
Almighty, and only through Him, do we have any sense of hope and joy in life.
He and He alone is fully worthy of all our efforts. He and He alone is worthy
of all our praise and honor. He and He alone is worthy of all our rejoicing and
glorification.
Let’s make sure we never cease to
show Him our appreciation for all He does.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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