Scripture:
Isaiah 54:10-17 NKJV
[10] For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the Lord, who has mercy on you. [11] “O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires. [12] I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones. [13] All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children. [14] In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. [15] Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. [16] “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. [17] No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.
Observation:
I have always loved Isaiah. The way his calling comes into the picture is absolutely phenomenal. I could not imagine standing in the throne room of the LORD almighty, but the way he describes it is so profound that you can truly picture him standing there seeing the smoke filled room full of GOD’S glory. The description is breathtaking. He was called to be a prophet as a young man. Some say he was as young as 18 but others say he was maybe around 25. He was known for his eloquent warnings to Judah. Warnings against social injustice and idolatry, as well as prophetic statements about the soon coming KING. Not to mention the suffering servants. As I prayed over what needed to be said this morning the Holy Spirit brought me to these few verses. Now I know they speak to GOD’S chosen people of Judah, however we need to remember that the Bible is the prophetic word of GOD, and even though these words are written to the Jewish people, we have been adopted into that family through the blood of Christ, so these words are just as applicable to us as they are to the Jewish people. That being said, let’s dive in. Isaiah has an incredible way with the words GOD gave him through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They remind HIS chosen people of an everlasting covenant that can not be broken. One that not only includes peace that is hard to understand, but mercy, protection and assurance regardless of what things look like, GOD’S kindness does not change. Looking at verse 10 will show us that. “For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Isaiah is reassuring GOD’S chosen people that what HE has promised will take place. At the end of that verse he makes a statement that seems a little odd, especially after speaking about peace. The statement is, “O you afflicted one.” After a promise of peace GOD speaks into the situation at hand, HE talks about being tossed by the tempest, and not being comforted. However HE is not finished with what HE has to say through the prophet. Restoration and security follow shortly after. A promise to rebuild and establish them in righteousness through colorful gems laid in their foundation. That stone is the mentioned KING of salvation, known to us as Jesus Christ. Continuing to bring GOD’S promise to the surface, GOD begins to show us a picture of who HE is by talking about the children, GOD is a generational GOD HE is not just concerned with the right now, but generations to come, which leads me to want to skip ahead to verse 15, which talks about the blacksmith. Being tested and tempered through the fire. Shaped and molded as weapons that can be used in battle. The word of GOD is sharper than any two-edged sword. IT has the ability to cut right through our very soul. Although I would love to sit right here in the presence of my father all day and write about what HE speaks to me. I still have to make a living so I have to get to my point. As Isaiah talks about forging weapons and the fiery trials it takes to do so, his writing is to assure us that even when it feels to heave for us, GOD is not done. Not one weapon formed against us will prosper. He does not say they will not be formed. But they will not destroy us GOD’S chosen people…. A family we have been adopted into has a divine protection that can only come from a heavenly Father.
Application:
The enemy’s attacks can be rather overwhelming at times. We talked about the armor that the LORD provides just a little bit yesterday, so my point to today’s SOAP is really just a continuation of yesterday’s. Over the last several months, it seems like I have come out of one attack just to walk right into another one, what I know about my heavenly Father is if I’m not dead yet HE is not done with me. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. He comes to steal your dream, kill your hopes and destroy your peace. That’s why the Bible says the joy of the LORD is my strength. Knowing how Satan attacks and how to remain sober minded in the process is important. It’s so easy to allow our emotions to overrule our actions. Trust me this is one thing I know. Coming off of an emotional outburst that has truly cost me more than it was willing to pay. Emotions can be intoxicating. They can steal our peace and cause us to do things that we end up not happy about. I feel like the important thing to remember is that everything the enemy plans to use for evil GOD will work for HIS good. Not one weapon the Satan forms will prosper. The spiritual warfare and battle is a real thing. The best weapon that the enemy has is to convince you that it’s not a spiritual problem. The spiritual weapons are real and they are formed, they will dent the armor but those dents build character. Although they are made to take us out of the game all they will do is give us drive for the battle that GOD has already won. We only need to grab a few rocks and step up to the fight. HE sees the beginning from the end and although it may feel like too much for you. I’m going to tell you the truth…. It is too much for you. But not one weapon that is formed will take you out. GOD’S promise of protection and redemption is what needs to be our focus. Don’t look at the attack…. Keep your eyes on GOD’Sword… yes I removed the space for a reason.
Prayer:
Father, we know that we don’t see what you do. You stand outside of time. You see the big picture, and we are looking at our lives by what is right in front of us. All we can ask is that you show us the next step. Give us the courage to take it. We know that the battle can seem overwhelming. But you are the one who made us, you are the one who sees every hard moment and every mistake. All we have to go on are the promises that you have given us… promises that we have seen come to pass. Help us to remember that you are no different today than you were then. You will never stop loving and protecting us. No matter how it looks, that is exactly what you are doing. You are good to us even when we don’t see it. Every pain-filled moment will be used for your glory. The weapons the enemy tries to use will only backfire on him. You are bigger than whatever he throws at us. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.