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.