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.