“Say to those with anxious heart, “Be strong, have no fear!” Behold, your God! Vengeance is coming! God’s recompense—it is coming! Then He will save you…Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing. For water will burst forth in the desert and streams in the wilderness. The parched land will become a pool, the thirsty ground springs of water…”
Isaiah 35:4, 6-7 TLV
Sometimes I am overcome by the beauty in the Word of G-d, and today is one of those times. I’ve written before about the 2018 trauma that left me unable to sing. The Lord touched me physically on two separate occasions and my vocal chords are moving again! Though my voice is still low and tires on occasion, the pain is completely gone. I am so grateful!!
I have felt for sometime though that the Lord wants to – WILL DO – more because I still cannot sing. I try. I press in. I pray. I seek. But singing – which used to bring me such great joy, especially when harmonizing with my children, still alludes me.
As I read the passage today, it’s almost as if G-d whispered to my heart: “I hear you and I haven’t forgotten you.”
“The mute will sing and water will burst forth in the desert…the parched land will become a pool…”
Though I’ve found Isaiah incredibly hard to read, I’ve kept reading and kept seeking. And in the midst of struggling to understand the imagery, poetry, and prophecy, these beautiful words lept off the page. The place that has been a desert to me, the place of desperation and brokenness, the place of sorrow and loneliness, the place of silence and sorrow – that place will become a pool, a place of comfort and refreshing, when water, the source of life, bursts forth – and water WILL burst forth.
It is interesting to me that the passage starts with a three part directive: Be strong. Have no fear. Behold your G-d.
Be strong- ḥāzaq: be firm, courageous, confident (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9; Deuteronomy 31:6-7)
Have no fear: yārē ‘al– do not be afraid, fear not (Genesis 15:1)
Behold your G-d: hinnê ĕlōhîm – lo! Look and see Yahweh, G-d in truth (Jeremiah 10:10)
In other words, I can be confident and courageous, free of fear, because He is not done. I might feel defeated in this one battle, but in the end, He wins.
No matter the sorrow, refreshing will come again. No matter the barrenness, life will come again. No matter the brokenness, healing will come again. No matter what, He will come again.
Father, thank You for Your Word and for how You love me. Thank You for Your promise. Thank You for Your healing and truth. Transform my life with Your Word and Your presence. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Isaiah 35-36
July 24, 2022