Sometimes waiting is for a reason...

*THE SCRIPTURE USED TODAY

Isaiah 49:7-9 12- This is what the Lord says—    the Redeemer  and Holy One of Israel—to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,  to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up,   princes will see and bow down , because of the Lord who is faithful,   the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you .” 8  This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you,   and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you be a covenant for the people, to restore the land   and to reassign its desolate inheritances. 9 to say to the captives,‘Come out,’    and to those in darkness, ‘Be free! ’“They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. 10 They will neither hunger nor thirst nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,    and my highways will be raised up. 12 See, they will come from afar—    some from the north, some from the west,    some from the region of Aswan.”

*MY INTERPRETATION: This is what the Lord of Israel had to say to the ones He gave his life for, to the ones He is dedicated. To those who are despised and regarded with disgust by other nations, he says ‘You will be noticed, and exalted by those in high positions. Simply because I am unchanging, loyal and devoted [to you] but mainly because I have chosen you.  

It is because of my kindness that I will reply [to your situation] on the day you are delivered from your sin. I will make it easy for you. I will keep you and make you the promise for others to see. When you return, you will be given back your land as well as some of the deserted land (now flourishing).

I will say to those held prisoner “come out” and to those deep in their sin “be free”. Food and beauty will abound wherever you go or look. What was once without life will now be multiplied. No one will hunger, thirst, or suffer from the heat. I will guide you and meet all your needs. I will remove obstacles before you get to them. See all my people are coming home”.

*MY RESEARCH & REFLECTIONS OF THE PASSAGE APPLIED TO MY LIFE [I have been stuck in this passage for what seems like two weeks now. I feel this sometimes happens because God his holding me in that particular piece of passage to show me something at an appointed time. There have been so many of these times while reading Isaiah, that this has seemed to happen to me. I try not to get discouraged and simply wait for the Holy Spirit to reveal whatever it is my soul needs to receive. So here it is finally. I hope it speaks to you as well.

This is what the Lord spoke to me, I am the one He gave his life for, I am the one He is dedicated to. When I am despised and hated by others, he reminds me that he has a plan -I will be noticed and elevated to higher positions simply because he has chosen me. He is loyal and devoted to me [because I have chosen to be a Christ follower]. The day I made the decision to follow him is the day I accepted the devotion He had already promised to me.

He will send answers to help me make decisions, He will protect me from harm. My life will be an example of his promises when he rights the wrongs that have been against me and restores me; when he gives me that which was once abandoned but is now flourishing; when he uses me to help others break free from bondage, when he uses me to be a light to help others see restoration is possible. It is because of his compassion that I lack for nothing, that I have been protected, that I am led and continually replenished. He is the one directing my path. I simply have to take the steps. When I am not afraid to move out in obedience and do what He has called me to do, others will follow the Christ I serve.  

ANALYZE YOUR PAST, YOUR PURPOSE & YOUR PLAN

*THE SCRIPTURE USED TODAY

Isaiah 43: 26-28

26 Review the past for me,     let us argue the matter together;  state the case for your innocence. 27 Your first father sinned;  those I sent to teach you rebelled against me. 28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;     I consigned Jacob to destruction[a]     and Israel to scorn. Footnotes: Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

*DEFINITIONS REVIEWED

Definitions: (I choose to look up certain words that I feel could have more meaning than my current understanding of them or that could make more sense to me if I had a different or more current word)

1. Review: examin with possibility or intention of instituting change if necessary; look over; study; examine again; analysis

2. Argue: put forth reason for or against debate; prove reasoning; give evidence of ; persuaded; influence; insist

3. rebelled: rise in opposition to established government ruler; revolt, Riot, take up arms; be insubordinate

4. Disgraced: bring shame upon; discredit; treat with disfavor; rebuke, humiliate; fallen from favor; degrade; taint; stain

5. dignitaries: person of high rank, position or office

*MY INTERPRETATION

26 ANALYZE YOUR PAST THEN LETS LOOK FOR THE ACTIONS THAT COULD PROVE YOUR BLAMELESSNESS. 27 YOUR PREVIOUS GENERATIONS SINNED; THEN I SENT MORE TO TEACH YOU THE TRUTH AND YET THEY WERE REBELLIOUS & UNDISCIPLINED AS WELL 28 SO I HUMILIATED -completely destroyed-THE LEADERS OF YOUR COMMUNITY.  

*MY RESEARCH & REFLECTIONS OF THE PASSAGE APPLIED TO MY LIFE

Stacey, carefully evaluate your past and then let’s understand your actions and see if they prove you to be blameless (I doubt they will.. ;/ EEKS). The family that came before you- even as far back to Abraham & Adam- have sinned so I -have continued to send- others to teach you the truth. Yet they, too were rebellious and undisciplined. I humiliated-or completely destroyed- the religious leaders of your community. Previously protected from my wrath because of their position, I have stripped them of their duties and allowed them to experience the same treatment as common people.

What should I do with the information I gain as a result of analyzing my past? If I recognize that I am doing the same and failing miserably by not providing the other’s with the truth of God’s word, then I need to

1. remind God of the promises that he made to me and the sacrifice that Jesus made FOR me so that I may avoid the same feat of the dignitaries. “In Matthew Henry’s Concise commentary it’s stated: Plead these -[his promises]- with him [when] wrestling for pardon; and declare these things, that thou mayest be justified freely by his grace. This is the only way, and it is a sure way to peace.”

2. I should ‘go & sin no more’; do as I am commanded to do and love people; because that is His greatest commandment.

But why should I do this you ask? Because I am part of the generation that he continues to send. There is currently a generation looking at me (& you) the way I looked to previous generations. It is my responsibility and my purpose on earth to give them the truth. I do not want to take my assignment of teaching others about the truth lightly and fail miserably.

John 11:40 "Did I not promise you," replied Jesus, "that if you believe, you shall see the glory of God?"

Acts 2:39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself."

Acts 13:32 We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm,'You are my Son. Today I have become your father.'

Romans 4:16 For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.17 so that the promise should be made sure to all Abraham's true descendants; not merely to those who are righteous through the Law, but to those who are righteous through a faith like that of Abraham. Thus in the sight of God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and makes reference to things that do not exist, as though they did, …

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+43&version=ASV;ERV;NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+43&version=ASV;ERV;NIV