I was deeply encouraged by this passage from Isaiah 50, for myself and for some of my precious friends. Right now, Miao and I are reading this portion of the Bible, and though I'm not supposed to jump chapters, here I am when I read Isaiah's experience and knowledge of God, wanting more of God in the way he knew Him, agreeing with his instructions:
The Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I do not rebel or turn away...
Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be dismayed. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will triumph. He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to oppose me now? Where are my enemies? Let them appear! See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys His servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from Me: You will soon lie down in great torment.
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The last few lines serve as a punch. We need to foremostly seek His counsel and that must firmly be our foundation. That is the light in which we must live and be guided by. Trust and rely on Him, what simple words! That by reading them already draws me to do that, when uncertainties mount and there's no clear indication where we're going. Then there's that warning that if we rely on our judgement, natural wisdom and intellect, all our clever opinions, boo, the opposite of prospering happens. I've to be so careful with that because people often measure each other by their opinions. I've many opinions but I've learnt failure after failure that they should never get the better of me, unless they are approved by God and charged by His wisdom as in the beginning of the passage when Isaiah then had words to say. I mean, there's no use of people thinking much of me when God winces at my pride.
Another part that I totally identified with was his exclamation of God being on his side. I'm happy knowing that and take pride and comfort in His reliability, yet I haven't until recently felt the elation that when upon embracing that fact comes. The blessing of feeling approval from Him, of feeling big because He is, is amazing. It overcomes expectations of others and of self, to be better or to be more which produces stress. It frees me to be more because I am, transformed, and still being so.
Day by day now, awaken me to revelation, sensitise me to Your movements, dictate me to Your wishes, stretch me to discern times, sharpen me for Your purpose. This I pray for you too.
"Oh when You said seek Your face
My heart says, 'Your face, I will seek' "
