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You will live in joy and peace…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:12a You will live in joy and peace….

Verse 12 feels a little like a scene in a campy Disney movie, with singing hills and clapping trees, but the idea of living in joy and peace, resting sure in the knowledge that the Lord’s ways are different than mine, His thoughts are beyond my own, He’s in control and I can rest….that is such a beautiful idea.

Isaiah 55:12b …The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!

Isaiah 43:19 has been a touchstone for me for some years. The idea that God is already making a way in my wilderness, even though all I see is dead ends? That brings me peace. But today’s verses are saying essentially the same thing. I see what is. God sees what can be, what will be. I have to trust Him.

Isaiah 55:13a Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up….

Lord, I am a firm believer in seeking You. Thank You for the reminder that just because I can’t see or imagine how You will work in a situation does mean You cannot, will not, are not already working. Help me not to limit You. Help me to trust You always so that I can live fully in Your joy and peace. Amen.

Isaiah 55:13b …These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Have a blessed day.

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The words that I choose…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:10a “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth….

I love both this analogy and the fact that God desires our understanding so much that sometimes He tries to put the mysteries of the universe into comparisons we can grasp. Some of my other reading this morning talked about the impact of my own words on others, and it strikes me that this analogy is fitting there as well.

Isaiah 55:10b …They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.

Positive, uplifting words are a balm. They nurture and support. Negative, bitter words (words that I find all too often on my tongue) are like acid rain. They coat and soak in just like rain, but their effect is corrosive and deadly. But I have a choice about the words that I choose, the words that I use. I am not a helpless victim to what comes out of my mouth.

Isaiah 55:11a It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit….

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that words are important, they can bring life. Thank You for the reminder that my words have impact, and that I need to be sure the words that I use edify and nourish, instead of corroding the spirit. Help me root myself in You, Lord. Always. Amen.

Isaiah 55:11b …It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Have a blessed day.

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Leaving room for amazing…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:8a “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD….

I am a very concrete person. I can’t really envision or imagine. As an artist in high school, I could faithfully reproduce what I saw, but I couldn’t create and draw something just from imagination. I am a huge fan of interior design shows, but again, I can appreciate the transformations after the fact, but I can’t really see the potential of a wrecked space beforehand.

Isaiah 55:8b …“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

All of this comes to mind when I read today’s verses. Because I know I can’t imagine the possibilities like those above, I understand what God is saying here, but I still have a hard time letting go and letting God have control…even though I am well aware that I lack the insight and imagination to take control myself.

Isaiah 55:9a For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways…

Lord, Thank You for showing me yet again that Your thoughts are higher, Your ways are far beyond anything I am capable of imagining. Help me to let go of my tendency to plow ahead, thinking that I have all the answers and know exactly where a situation needs to go. Help me to leave room for You to show up in amazing ways. Amen.

Isaiah 55:9b …and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Have a blessed day.

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Even in the chaos…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:3a “Come to me with your ears wide open.

God has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. That means that even when things feel like they are falling apart, God is still firmly in control. He’s with us, even in the chaos.

Isaiah 55:3b …Listen, and you will find life….

Unfortunately, when I am in that type of situation, my posture is more accusatory (Where are You, God?!?) and less seeking (I know You are with me, God, even now. Help me to see You.)

Isaiah 55:3c …I will make an everlasting covenant with you….

Lord, Help me to approach every situation seeking You. You are always with me, even when things feel like they are falling apart. Help me seek You. Help me see You. Always. Amen.

Isaiah 55:3d …I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

Have a blessed day.

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More present, more thankful, more grateful…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:1a “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money!… 

During the school year, I am a planner (with a backup plan and a contingency plan just in case). It helps me to effectively move students from point A to point B through the semester. Summers are more laid back, but today’s verses struck me because how I read them during the summer and during the school year is vastly different. Therefore, what God can show me is different.

Isaiah 55:1b …Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!

God has been teaching me to trust this summer–Trust His timing. Trust His plan. Trust His ways. So many things haven’t worked according to my plan, but I am more present, more thankful, more grateful because of it. I really hope I can learn to take this mindset with me into the new school year.

Isaiah 55:2a Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good?

Lord, Thank you for the way that You created me, fearfully and wonderfully. Thank You that You can use my gifts and strengths in so many ways for Your glory. Thank You that You’ve allowed me to experience you in a totally different way this summer than I can during the school year. Help me take that mindset shift with me into the classroom, too. Amen.

Isaiah 55:2b …Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.

Have a blessed day.

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God’s thoughts…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 139:17a How precious to me are your thoughts, a God!…

Lord, I wonder what you think about. I know from scripture that Your thoughts are nothing like my thoughts. I know that You care about things on a much larger scale than I can imagine.

Psalm 139:17b …How vast is the sum of them!

But I also know that You care about each of Your children. You’ve got Your eye on the sparrow, so I know You care about me, too.

Psalm 139:18a Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—

Lord, it’s easy to feel like I can get lost in the shuffle, like with all You’ve got on Your plate, there’s no way You have time to think about me, too. Thank You for the certain knowledge that You care deeply for me. Help me to care for Your people the way You care for me. Amen.

Psalm 139:18b …when I awake, I am still with you.

Have a blessed day.

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God’s audacious plan…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 

What strikes me about today’s scripture is that God’s plan is so audacious. Not only will He, with Moses’s assist, convince Pharaoh to let the Egyptians go, but also He “will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.”

Exodus 3:20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

I am reminded of Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness….” I am absolutely certain the enslaved Israelites did not see this coming. Moses had no idea what he would find at the burning bush. But God….

Exodus 3:21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 

Lord, Like Moses, I’m curious yet hesitant. Like the Israelites, I’m comfortable in my current situation and hesitate to change. Thank You that Your thoughts are nothing like my thoughts and Your ways are far beyond anything I can imagine (Isaiah 55:8). Keep pushing me outside of my comfort zone and closer to You. Amen.

Exodus 3:22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Have a blessed day.

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Not of this world…. (Devo reflection)

Ezekiel 37:11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’

I was reminded this morning that the valley of dry bones represented not only death but also disgrace. For bones to be left in that condition, they would have had to have been denied a proper burial, meaning these weren’t just symbolic of exhaustion and loss of hope but also of disgrace.

Ezekiel 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

I am reminded of Isaiah 43:19. God is making a way in the wilderness. He is doing a new thing, even though we cannot yet perceive it. He is asking us to act in faith that He is who He says, that He keeps His promises, no matter what our eyes are telling us.

Ezekiel 37:13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.

Lord, When I look at the valley of dry bones, I see death, despair, disgrace. Thank You that Your vision is not of this world, that Your sight is not limited as mine is. Help me, like Ezekiel, to act in faith in You, despite what I see. Amen.

Ezekiel 37:14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

Have a blessed day.

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A beautiful gift…. (devo reflection)

1 John 3:1a See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!…  

To be claimed, loved, accepted, is a beautiful gift. And the Lord has done that for us. He has claimed us, called us by name, we are His (Isaiah 43:1). So I guess it shouldn’t be a big surprise that I often feel like I don’t fit because Christ didn’t fit either. He wasn’t a part of this world. It wasn’t His home. It’s not mine either.

1 John 3:1b …And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

When thinking of the gift that fathers give their children–and the Lord is the ultimate Father–to be called His child, to be set apart, which often means feeling like you don’t fit, is a gift. It keeps us from getting too comfortable in a place that is not our home. It allows us to feel compassion for others who don’t feel like they fit either.

1 John 3:2a Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known….  

Precious Savior, Thank You for the gift of acceptance into Your family. Thank You that that gift means separation from this world, which is not our home. Thank You that that gift allows me to have compassion for others who feel separated and “less than.” We aren’t less than. We are Yours. Help us never forget that powerful truth. Amen.

1 John 3:2b …But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Have a blessed day.

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Better than I could ever imagine…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:8a “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD….

I am terribly guilty for limiting God with my imagination. I think I know how something should be, should turn out, and all the while, God’s plan is so much bigger, so much greater, than I can even fathom.

Isaiah 55:8 b …“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

It’s no surprise that trust is the root of the issue here. And it feels frustrating and ridiculous that I struggle so to trust God, though I know that this struggle is part of being human. And honestly, I do trust Him, truly, but my fear–of the unknown, of what might be, of what won’t be– can become so great, so all-consuming that it becomes a living thing that overshadows God’s grace.

Isaiah 55:9a For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways….

Lord, I believe that You are God of all creation. I believe that Your ways are far beyond anything I can imagine. I trust that You have a better plan than I could ever fathom. I do trust, You, Lord. Truly, I do. I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). Amen.

Isaiah 55:9b …and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Have a blessed day.