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The God of the remnants…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 37:4 “It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
My mom had a fabric shop when I was growing up, so the mention of the word remnant puts me in mind of fabric, specifically the last little bit on a bolt. It would be easy to discount remnants as useless scraps; however, they would be packaged and sold to quilters and turned into beautiful, warm quilts. Those remnants were used in powerful ways.
Isaiah 37:20 “Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
I think God has a similar view of remnants, not as scraps to be thrown away but as valuable resources to be remade into something useful and powerful.
Isaiah 37:31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above.
Lord, You are the God of the remnants. May we, when we feel like useless scraps, see Your power to remake us into something useful in Your kingdom work. Amen.
Isaiah 37:35 “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”
Have a blessed day.
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Promises and siren songs…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 36:16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern….”
This line from Isaiah brought George Washington and the play “Hamilton” to mind. In the three verses below, the vine and fig tree are allusions to freedom, peace, and rest. In the Isaiah verse, Rabshakeh hopes to pull on those same emotions.
Micah 4:4 Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.
Hezekiah is trying to convince the Israelites to stay the course, continue trusting in God even through their fear. Rabshakeh says, “Just trust the Assyrian king and rest and peace—vine and fig tree—will be yours.” It’s a trick, of course.
1 Kings 4:25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.
Lord, How often in my exhaustion and desire for rest do I fall for the siren song of Rabshakeh. You promise me peace and rest but only if I trust in You and You alone. I want Your peace and rest, Lord, not the empty promises of this world. Draw me closer. Amen.
Zechariah 3:10 “’In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”
Have a blessed day.
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Joy of the Redeemed…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way….
Lord, Thank You for the reminder that because I am Your deeply loved child, I have the ability to claim the “Joy of the Redeemed” every moment of every day. Forgive me for the many, many, many times I choose to dwell in my misery instead of focusing on the joy of Your salvation.
Isaiah 35:4 …say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come…he will come to save you.”
Lord, Help me to live this day knowing that I am Yours, living into that truth. When I feel inadequate to the task, steady my knees. When my heart is fearful, remind me to be strong. And then help me to use Your strength to strengthen and encourage others.
Isaiah 35:5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Lord, in a world where sorrow is a sometimes daily reality, thank You for Your abundant joy. Thank You for Your restoration and renewal. Help me to lay my burdens at Your feet and rest in Your love and peace. Help me to shine Your Light for others. Amen.
Isaiah 35:6 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.
Have a blessed day.
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Abundantly…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 34:16a Look in the scroll of the Lord and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate….
Lord, Thank You for the hope that can be found so abundantly in Your word, for the invitation to return to You that is woven throughout.
Isaiah 34:16b …For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together.
Thank You that You are not a “gotcha God” as in “you screwed up; now I gotcha and I’m going to punish you.” Thank You that You know our fleshly humanity and You love us fiercely regardless.
Isaiah 34:17a He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure….
Lord, I do not want to be infected with a spirit of fear. I don’t want to worry that You’ll smite me at the least provocation. I know that I am fleshly and human and flawed. I also know that You love me fiercely, exactly as You created me. You claim me abundantly as Your beloved child, and I am so incredibly thankful. Help me to love myself and others as You love me. Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 34:17b …They will possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation.
Have a blessed day.
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A clear and hopeful message….

Isaiah 33:2a Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you….
The book of Isaiah as a whole has a decidedly negative bent. But the message that I see emerging is clear and hopeful—a repeated invitation to turn from their destructive ways, from their misplaced hopes, and return to God.
Isaiah 33:2b …Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
God does not mince words about the outcome if they don’t return—they will face consequences of their choices, and it won’t be good. But I sincerely believe God isn’t trying to “fear” them into change. He doesn’t want them to change just because they are afraid of the consequences. He could have created automatons if that’s what He wanted. He wants them, us, to consciously choose Him, to intentionally return to Him.
Isaiah 33:6a [The LORD] will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge….
Lord, Your fierce love of us is mind-blowing. We don’t deserve Your grace or compassion and yet You give it freely and repeatedly. Forgive me for the times I’ve ignored Your invitation to return. Help me to make You and keep You the center of my life. Always. Amen.
Isaiah 33:6b …the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
Have a blessed day.
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Peace, protection, and rest…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 32:17 The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
Motifs I’m noticing in Isaiah include invitations to peace and rest through God. One would think accepting those invitations would be a no-brainer, and yet I personally, ridiculously seem to struggle mightily doing so.
Isaiah 32:18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
I thought for a very long time that the root cause was an inability to trust, which always bothered me. Recently, God has placed on my heart that perhaps the reason has more to do with pride, with feeling like I *should* be able to do it on my own, so I need to prove that I can.
Isaiah 32:19 Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely….
Lord, Over and over in scripture, You invite Your children into Your peace and protection, You urge Your children to rest in You. There is no reproach, no condemnation in Your invitation. Help me to put aside whatever it is that is separating me from Your peace which surpasses all understanding. Draw me into Your rest. Help me, Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 32:20 how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
Have a blessed day.
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The invitation to return (cont’d)…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 31:4a This is what the Lord says to me: “As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey— and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor—
I love the analogies present here. Lions and birds are such different animals, but both are fierce and protective. God will protect me like a lion. God will shield me like a bird. Thank You, Jesus.
Isaiah 31:4b …so the Lord Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
But as I reread yesterday’s reflection in preparation, I noticed the invitation to return to Him. It’s present in today’s reading as well. That’s what He wants—us, stubborn, pig-headed, oblivious creatures that we are. He wants us to return to Him, to turn to Him, to trust in Him for our needs and our protection.
Isaiah 31:5 Like birds hovering overhead, the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”
Lord, You know the struggles of my heart right now. You know that despite the fact that I intellectually *know* all I need to do is lay my burdens at Your feet, I struggle with letting them go, not because I don’t trust You but because I think it makes me more faithful to do it alone, which is untrue. I cannot do this life alone, Lord. I do not want to. Help me to lay these burdens at Your feet. Thank You for loving me enough to keep reminding me, stubborn as I am, to give it all to You. Amen.
Isaiah 31:6 Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against.
Have a blessed day.
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The invitation to return…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
Monday’s reflection about spiritual toddlerhood comes vividly to mind as I read Isaiah 30:15. God wants His people to rest in Him, to trust in Him. He knows that is the only way we can ever find rest and peace. When I struggle, determined to do it on my own because I am a strong, independent woman, I am choosing to have none of His peace. Talk about making poor choices.
Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Yet even when I turn my back, determined to do it alone in the strength God gave me, He still longs to be gracious to me, He will rise up to show me compassion.
Isaiah 30:19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.
Lord, Forgive me for my pride, even if the intent—to show that You *did* create me as an independent woman—is misguidedly for You. Thank You for the invitation to return to You and rest. Help me to set aside my pride, my fears, anything that separates me from You and return to Your peace with my whole heart. Grant me Your rest. Please, Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 30:20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.
Have a blessed day
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Putting lipstick on the pig…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 29:13a The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me….”
Sometimes the modern North American version of church seems like a total farce. It seems very much for show—you dress in your Sunday best, polish yourself up, show up so that “they” can see how spiritual you are.
Isaiah 29:13b “…Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”
But God knows our hearts. He knows if we are “putting lipstick on the pig” in our attempts to fool others. He’s not fooled, but He does not want to be. He doesn’t want us to love Him according to human rules. He wants us to love Him wholeheartedly, with our warts, our wounds, our scars and all.
Isaiah 29:15 Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”
Thank You, Jesus, for seeing through all the pomp and circumstance of life. Thank You for recognizing my struggles and my pain. Thank You for caring more about my heart than about appearances. Help me to love You, to praise You, to worship You wholeheartedly as You deserve. Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 29:16 You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Have a blessed day.
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A precious cornerstone…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. (NIV)
Commentary on this chapter was difficult for me to read because I know that if someone were struggling with the grip of addiction, the commentary on this chapter would leave them hopeless. However, the cornerstone spoken of in this verse and in 1 Peter 2:6 is Jesus Christ, the ultimate source of hope.
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. (NLT)
It was Jesus who broke bread with Judas, even knowing that Judas would betray Him. It was Jesus who prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” as the soldiers cast lots for His clothes (Luke 23:34). It was Jesus who told the criminal, “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Like 23:43). Jesus. Hope.
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore the Lord GOD said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable. (CSB)
Dearest Jesus, Thank You for being a source of hope for the hopeless, not because You advocate debauchery but because You love us so that You want us with You, no matter how far we’ve strayed. Thank You for Your love and mercy that doesn’t shake a judgmental finger at us, preaching about all the ways we screwed up, but Who gathers us in, stinking, filthy wretches that we are, lovingly dries our tears and wipes the mud from our cheeks and welcomes us home. Thank You for being hope, compassion, and mercy personified. Amen.
Isaiah 28:16 And so the LORD says, “I’m laying a firm foundation for the city of Zion. It’s a valuable cornerstone proven to be trustworthy; no one who trusts it will ever be disappointed. (CEV)
Have a blessed day.