Good Morning Friends,
“The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy
city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the
delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks, till the Spirit is poured upon us from
on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems
like a forest. Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the
fertile field. The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of
righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in
peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though
hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you
will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys
range free.” (Isaiah 32:14-20)
I like the picture that Isaiah paints in this
passage. He paints the picture of a place that is desolate and dry, devoid of
life and health. That’s a description of our current world. There is so much
about our time that is devoid of life and health, so much about our day that is
desolate and dry. We live in a spiritual wasteland of our own making.
Though we live in such a place, we don’t
share its lifelessness and desolation. The Spirit has been poured out from on
high and He dwells within us. Our hearts – desertlike before we came to Christ
-- now bloom as a fertile field with roots that run deep like a strong forest.
Though we live in a place in which justice and righteousness are rare – in our
hearts they reign supreme because we serve the just One and the righteous One. We
live in a place of turmoil – but have hearts that rest in God’s peace. Though
devastation comes to the world – in our hearts is a place of blessing and peace
and freedom.
I know, we don’t experience those things
perfectly – because our hearts are not perfectly in line with God’s heart. But
we taste them and we’ll know them more and more fully as we know Him more and
more completely -- until that day when we’ll know peace and joy and freedom completely
in the eternity of God’s presence.
Don’t despair because of the condition of the
world around us. Instead, focus on the life within you – and on the One who
bought it for you and brought it to you.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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