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In God alone…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 57:11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart?…”
Something about this passage resonates with me because I see it clearly in today’s society. We may not worship the same idols as those mentioned here, but a quick look at what people put their faith in these days reveals a long and startling list: money, hard work, ourselves, society’s opinion, other people, the list goes on. Clearly, that’s not good. Our faith must reside in God alone.
Isaiah 57:12 “I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you.”
When I die, I hope my Savior will greet me with a hearty, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I certainly don’t want to hear the pronouncement, “Your works, your righteousness, they will not benefit you.” That seems to indicate that my kingdom work on earth was not useful. And to then be told, “Let your collection of idols save you” (Remember the list? money, hard work, ourselves, society’s opinion, other people, the list goes on.), I truly want no part of that destruction. Jesus, Help me.
Isaiah 57:13a “When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away….”
Lord, Even reading these verses draws me closer to You. Thank You. When I read verses 11-13a, my heart pounds, my breathing quickens. It is not soothing or comfortable. But when I read verse 13b, I can breathe again. I can fill my lungs with Your air and Your peace. Help me to take refuge in You always, Lord. Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 57:13b “…But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”
Have a blessed day.
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To live, love, and serve like You…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 56:1 This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.”
Maintain justice and do what’s right… such simple, straightforward ideals, yet so many still have difficulty following through. Sometimes we get caught up in the world and sometimes we get caught up in our own mess, yet the moment we realize we are drifting, God gives us the means to make our way back to Him.
Isaiah 56:3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”
I love the spirit of inclusion here, probably because I’ve felt—both real and imagined—the sting of exclusion myself. God’s not interested in exclusivity. He throws the gates of Heaven open to all who see Him for who He is. The rules are pretty simple: seek, see, maintain, do, follow.
Isaiah 56:8a The Sovereign Lord declares—he who gathers the exiles of Israel…
Lord, Thank You for being the fiercely loving God of the universe. Thank You for allowing us to come to You—even though we are slow, cranky, and obstinate. Thank You for welcoming all, especially the least of these. Help us to live, love, and serve like You. Draw us closer. Amen.
Isaiah 56:8b …“I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”
Have a blessed day.
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Today and always…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
The verses I have pulled today are reminders: 1. God’s invitation is for all, not just the wealthy or those seen as worthy. We are all invited to come and be spiritually filled, without money and without cost. 2. We will find the Lord whenever we seek Him with our whole hearts (Jer 29:13). He wants us to seek  Him and to know Him.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
3. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. When God gets indignant about all the same things I do, I should be concerned and look more deeply into whether I am creating Him and His reactions in my own image. 4. When I align my life with Him, joy and peace will be abundant. This is one I struggle with, especially since joy and peace sometimes seem in very short supply. However, that’s my cue to keep working to align my life, my goals, my efforts with His.
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
Lord, Thank You for showing up with me, today and always, for always revealing a little more of who You are and who You are to me. Help me to know You more, to know You better. Help me not to worship a dim imitation that I have created in my own image. Help me to align my life with You and You alone. Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 55:12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Have a blessed day.
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Even in the chaos…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 54:7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back.”
I bristle at verse 7 because God has promised never to leave me nor forsake me (Heb 13:5), so what am I supposed to do with that verse? Commentary helps me to reconcile this by saying that God only allowed the Israelites to *feel* abandoned for a moment. He did not actually abandon them. That I can understand.
Isaiah 54:8 “In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.
I have felt abandoned by the Lord before. Mostly, I think, it was me trying to reconcile all that was falling apart in my life with God’s promises to me. There was a lot of “Why, Lord? Why me? Why the people I love? Why are some healed here and some are taken to heaven? It’s not fair! I hate it! Where are You in all of this chaos?!? You promised!!!” Through this terrible, terrible time, through the chaos, the struggle, the loss, God taught me that He truly IS with me always. He IS making a way in my wilderness, even when I cannot yet perceive it. I can share this hope with others because I have lived it firsthand myself.
Isaiah 54:9 “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.”
Lord, Being Your beloved child does not mean that life will be easy. There is still heartache and pain. But You promise never to leave us nor forsake us. You promise to walk through the fire with us. You promise we will never have to go it without You by our side, AND YOU KEEP YOUR PROMISES. Always. Thank You. Help us to trust Your presence, even in our fear, anger, and bitterness. Even in the chaos, help us to trust that You are with us, drawing us closer. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Have a blessed day.
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The aesthetics of life…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 53:2 …He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
This world is all about aesthetics—attractive people, attractive places; if it looks good, it is considered good. We forget, often, that a shiny surface can hide a rotting core. Jesus, according to verse 2, was not  attractive. He wasn’t ugly, just plain, I think, without a visage that automatically drew people.
Isaiah 53:3a He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain….
No one was pulled into His orbit simply because of His looks. This idea fascinates me. We choose houses based on appearance. We choose places of worship, in part, based on the appearance of the building and the people—who they are, what they do, how they appear. Jesus numbered Himself among the sinners. He spent time with them, ministered to them, cared for them. I wonder how many “good Christian people” would choose Jesus today given our reliance on aesthetics and appearance. (It is a sobering question that I’m asking myself, too.)
Isaiah 53:3b …Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Lord, Thank You for who You are and who You are to me. Your kingdom is about love, grace, mercy, compassion. Don’t let me get caught up in the aesthetics of life. Don’t let me miss the whole point of Your love. Draw me closer, Lord. Help me to shine Your Light for all. Amen.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Have a blessed day.
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Behind and before…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 52:12 But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
When I read Isaiah 52:12, Psalm 139:5 immediately came to mind as it carries that same idea of being surrounded, before and behind, by the Lord. I’m not surprised that there are a number of verses that talk about the Lord or His angels surrounding His people. He promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5).
Psalm 139:5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
The idea that God is always with me, surrounding me—especially in the difficult times—brings me great comfort. He doesn’t promise to make it all better or make it easy. He just promises that I am not facing life’s trials alone. He is with me—behind and before. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He is in the fire with me. He makes that promise to all of us.
Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.
Lord, So many of us are struggling right now. Thank You for being with us, for hemming us in before and behind. Thank You for allowing us to draw closer to You during the dark, uncertain times. Help us to feel Your peace that passes all understanding and Your presence to know that we are not alone. Draw us closer. Amen.
Psalm 125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
Have a blessed day.
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“Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation….”

Isaiah 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn….”
What I hear clearly in this chapter is God comforting His hurting people. “Listen to Me.” “Hear Me.” He knows they are hurting, we are hurting, and He wants to remind them, to remind us, of His presence, His goodness, His love, His promise.
Isaiah 51:3 “The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Isaiah 43:19, God’s promise that He is making a way in the wilderness, is a favorite verse of mine, especially when times are difficult. In Isaiah 51:3, He goes a step further in His promise and reassurance: not only is He making a way in the wilderness, He will transform, He is transforming, the wastelands of my life into the garden of the Lord. He is bringing His beauty from my ashes.
Isaiah 51:4 “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.”
Lord, Thank You for Your reassurances, Your promises, Your faithfulness. So many people are struggling right now, Lord. Help us to listen, help us to hear, help us—help us all—to be still and KNOW that You are God, that You are present, that You are making a way in our wildernesses, that You are turning our ashes into Your beauty even now, even if we cannot yet perceive it. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You. Amen.
Isaiah 51:7 “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults.”
Have a blessed day.
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The Sovereign Lord who helps me…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 50:2a …Was my arm too short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you?…
I am guilty of doubting. If I’m honest, I’m guilty of it much more often than I’d care to admit. Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help my unbelief” is a verse I feel deeply.
Isaiah 50:2b …By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
But as I ponder the what and the why of my struggles with belief and trust, I see my issue comes down to control again. It’s not that I don’t trust God to act, it is that I want Him to act in a very specific way. I want Him to fix it according to my plans. That’s where my problem lies.
Isaiah 50:7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced….
Lord, Forgive me for my insane need to micromanage the God of all creation. Forgive me that I don’t just want You to make a way where I see no way, but I want You to follow my step-by-step guide. Thank You that You are with me always, that You are making a way, even if it looks nothing like I had planned or imagined. Draw me closer. Help me to trust unconditionally, even when I don’t understand, even when it is not what I would have planned. Thank You for Your sovereignty and love. Amen.
Isaiah 50:9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me?
Have a blessed day.
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The palms of My hands…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 49:16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. (NLT)
The first part of this verse always makes me think of my mom. She used to write notes on her hand all the time to help her remember things. It is a sweet memory for me, and when I mentally personalize this verse, my name is written in God’s hand (which looks suspiciously like my mom’s) in her handwriting. That vision of being personally claimed and loved is a very sweet one to me.
Isaiah 49:16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. (NIV)
For me, this verse also helps underscore the fact that we are not just nameless beings to God. He knows us—individually and by name. That means He knows what each person is going through. He is there with them, beside them, carrying them. He doesn’t turn His back on us—ever—because we are His beloved children.
Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me. (BSB)
Lord, It is easy to feel insignificant in this great big world. Help me never to forget, no matter how small I’m feeling, that You are God of all creation, that You know me by name, that You have my name written in the palm of Your hand. Help me remember that You are always with me. Always. Amen.
Isaiah 49:16 A picture of your city is drawn on my hand. You are always in my thoughts! (CEV)
Have a blessed day.
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Peace like a river…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”
As a parent, I want what is best for my children, I want them to grow and flourish, so when I see them make bad choices and know they will have to live with the consequences, it hurts my heart because I know the situation could have easily been avoided. That’s the sense I get from the verses here.
Isaiah 48:18 “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.”
God is the ultimate parent. He wants the absolute best for us. He loves when we make good choices. It hurts His heart when we have to live with negative consequences because of our poor choices. He knows it could have been easily avoided by following Him.
Isaiah 48:19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.”
Lord, I want peace like a river and well-being like the waves of the sea—instinctual, overlapping, eternal. Thank You for being the God of second chances. Help me to follow Your commands, to put aside my foolish pride, to live for You and not for myself. Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Have a blessed day.