LifeLink Devotional

Monday, November 11, 2019

It’s just too true. We all fall into varying degrees of discouragement at times. We tend to fix our eyes on the here and now instead of the soon to be, and as a result we get bogged down in what’s wrong instead of rejoicing in the hope of the coming right. Then, to make matters worse, we go to great lengths to devise our own plans for fixing it all, only to have our lives more completely turned upside down.

Isaiah recognized that problem in people. He saw the inward spiral of self-fulfillment and how we are trapped in the vortex of vanity. He wrote, “the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?’ You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me?’ Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing?’” (Isaiah 29:14-16)

All the plans of man will fail. We will start thriving when we accept that. When we don’t, we barely survive. When we finally fall on our knees in humble surrender to the plans of our Provider and Perfecter of our faith, we will be rescued from the whirlpool of worldly wants and transported into the peaceful port of God’s purpose.

Isaiah 29:19  Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

At the end of this chapter in Isaiah, in verses 22-24, there are several clues to how this transformation can happen in our lives:

Therefore this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob: “No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale. When they see among them their children, the work of my hands¹, they will keep my name holy²; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob³, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel⁴. Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding⁵; those who complain will accept instruction⁶.” 

1. When we begin to see everything as the work of God…
2. When we keep the name of God Holy…
3. When we apply the holiness of God to every area of our lives…
4. When we live in complete worship of God…
5. When we commit to following God’s way and not our own, we will be made wise…
6. When we learn to praise God no matter what the circumstances, we will gain understanding.

Picture a ruler…you know, a measuring stick. It’s six inches long. Each inch is one of the above challenges. How do you measure up? I know I’ve got some growing to do.

Pastor John