We finish our week of
studying the “blessings of life together” with a song of praise from the
prophetic book of Isaiah. This book is full of hard truths and scary warnings
about the consequences of sin and rebellion against God. But here, toward its
end, we hear the faith-filled song of a suffering people who have seen God work
and trust Him to do it again. As you read and pray today, take time to journal
and thank God for all the ways you’ve seen Him at work in the past. Then spend
time writing out the ways you desire to see God working in your present and your
future.
STUDY THE SCRIPTURE
Click here to access the reading from Isaiah 63:7-19
REFLECTION
Where Are You God?
By Mary McGinnis
Read:
Corona virus, political
upheaval, racial tension, protesting, violence, tropical storms, and wildfires.
What do we do at times like this? Times when it feels like there is more
and more bad news, unrest, and chaos. It seems like things only seem to be
going from bad to worse and there is really no end in sight.
The book Isaiah finds
God’s people amid such chaos. They had been invaded by neighboring enemies,
defeated, and led into captivity. Their situation kept going from bad to worse.
Today’s reading begins
with these words: “I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord. .
.”
The word for “steadfast
love” in the original language is the Hebrew word “hesed.” The word
“hesed” is used 253 times in the Old Testament and has a much richer meaning
than what our English translations can capture. It is sometimes translated as
loving kindness, mercy, faithfulness, or unfailing love. God’s “hesed” love is
rich in kindness, faithfulness, a dedicated and committed love. It is a love
without expectations, regardless of the response, a constant and abiding favor.
It is a love that sees the distress of the one loved, and is willing to act on
their behalf, no matter the cost.
Amid their distress, God’s
people recounted God’s “hesed” love for them. In their vocabulary of praise,
they recount His great goodness, His compassion, how He became their Savior,
His love, His pity, how He carried them and led them.
After recalling the
faithfulness of God on their behalf, they then bring their raw, honest cries
before their God. “Where are your zeal and your might?” and “Return for your
servant’s sake.”
How have you seen God’s
“hesed” love revealed in Your life? Take time to journal some memories of
when God showed His loving kindness, mercy, and steadfast love to you in
tangible ways. Look around you today. How is God’s love being revealed to You
right now in your present circumstances? Use Psalm 136 to prompt your
writing.
How does this encourage you
even when answers to all the chaos does not seem evident?
“He who did not
spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will he not also with Him
graciously give us all things?
Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or danger, or sword? For I am sure that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:32,35,38-39)
Prayer Practice:
Prayer Journaling
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