Day 53: Isaiah 52:13-Isaiah 66:18 - 90 Day Challenge

God is for Everyone.

Finding Comfort Amid Loss. 


In today's reading, the Lord has a softer tone. Isaiah 54:9-10 says this: 

"To me, this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 

The Lord has sworn to not be angry, to not rebuke, to be a God of everlasting love that cannot be removed. What a relief! 

In this time of world-wide political turmoil, I believe it's important to remind ourselves of this: God wants everyone. God is greedy for our hearts and souls. He wants us to live pure lives with Him, and to not exclude anyone from that. Christianity is a non-exclusive club in which everyone still gets treated like a V.I.P. At least, that's how it should be. 

Isaiah 56: All of it. The whole chapter talks about foreigners and those who have been disgraced being equally accepted in God's eyes. The disgraced people who seek the Lord will be given a memorial within His temple. The foreigners will be brought to the Lord's Holy Mountain, and their hearts will be filled with joy and praise. The Lord is for Everyone. 

A question that we all face at some point in our lives is "Why do the good die young?" or, perhaps more to the point, "How could God take ________ away from us?" There's never a good answer. There's never an answer that doesn't feel pandering or pitiful or like false reassurance. But in Isaiah 57:1-2, we get an answer. It's never good enough, it still feels like something's been stolen, but it does provide a measure of peace. 

The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

Some are too good for this world, and they're spared from it's evil--only to enter in to a lifetime of peace and rest. It doesn't feel right to those of us left here, but the loss we feel is a result of those who we've lost's gain, that of eternal peace. 

In Isaiah 53, we see another prophecy--the coming of Christ. It talks about the trials Jesus faced in his life, and how he was the ultimate guilt offering for us all. I completely recommend reading Isaiah 52:13-Isaiah 53:12 in order to truly get a sense of his greatness as told through this prophecy. 

Tomorrow's reading: Isaiah 66:19-Jeremiah 10:13
Have a blessed day!
Jill Jafarace
Director of Student Ministries
New Leaf UMC


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