Isaiah 12:1-6 – Celebrating God’s goodness

Quite clearly Isaiah 12 marks the end of the first portion of the book. The prophet showed us from chapters 1-11 how gracious God truly was with His people. All throughout the first eleven chapters, we see the grace of God on display. Grace for the people of Judah, for Isaiah, for Israel, and certainly for all of us as individuals. God’s people had obviously not trusted Him despite His frequent assurances. That did not deter God, who continued to consistently show His generous grace. In spite of His people’s stubborn resistance, His magnanimity did not cease. He promised a glorious future. A remnant shall be preserved. So chapter 12 talked about the glorious day where the remnant and all the people He had gathered for Himself would enjoy Him in the Kingdom, and joyfully celebrate and praise Him.    

God’s magnanimity would eventually be realized, appreciated, and lauded by the people individually, personally, and voluntarily. What became clear was how much God has loved His people. The purpose of His anger was only to redirect them back to Himself. When God was through with His harsh dealings with them, those who remained would experience His comfort.

Notice the two phrases “on that day” and “in that day”. In verse 1, on that day, Isaiah said, there will be an individual and personal call to give thanks and praise to God. Then in verse 4, Isiah said, in that day there would be a corporate call to thanksgiving and praise. Verses 1-3 tell us that on that day each one would personally give thanks and laud God for what He had done for them individually. Then in verses 4-6 tell us that on that day they all would call out to one another to give thanks and honor Him. Whether individually or corporately, the reason would be for the salvation that they had all experienced personally and as a family.   

In these six verses we see why praise and thanks to God for His generosity should be spontaneous. Though angry with our sin, God had personally undertaken to become our salvation. We all deserve His wrath. Yet in His wrath, He would graciously seek to comfort us. Therefore, we would be downright ungrateful if we do not turn to thank and praise Him for all His magnanimity. And having experienced His goodness personally, it behooves us, therefore, to call on others, so that together we can proclaim the greatness of the One who alone deserves our total allegiance. Individually and personally, we must be grateful, but we must also encourage corporate gratitude and praise, all to the glory of our Matchless and Magnificent God!         

 

 

Isaiah 11:10-16 – With God, there is no impossibility

Here in Isaiah 11:10-16, the prophet assured the people of God that there would be a glorious end awaiting them. God would be gathering His people together from all over the places. In verse 10, we are told that, on that day, the root of Jesse will play a key role in that great ingathering. We can safely surmise that here Isaiah was referring to Christ Jesus the Messiah. He would be the standard-bearer. Nations would come to consult Him and in Him, there would be a provision of a place of rest. So we hear Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

In Isaiah 11:11-16, Isaiah went on to talk about the grace of God upon His people in bringing back the remnant. The naming of the various countries was not to say that the people would come from those places. But by way of saying that God’s restoration would be thorough and complete. Wherever they were, God would bring them back. Whether they be in the countries north, south, east, or west of them, the remnant shall return. Verse 12 tells us that the composition of the people God would bring together would comprise not just the scattered people of Israel and Judah, but also the people of the nations. Under the sprout of Jesse, peace would be restored between the people of Israel and Judah. All internal conflict would cease, and Israel and Judah would work in partnership against the surrounding nations such as Philistine, Edom, Moab, and Ammon. The emphasis here is not so much about the battle, as the restoration of the Kingdom under the Davidic Messiah.  

For King Ahaz and his people, the ferocious advancement of Assyria was a real threat.  How could Isaiah’s words be possible?  So Isaiah, in verses 15-16, brought them back to the scene where God delivered the Israelites from Egypt’s captivity in the time of the Exodus. It was an impossible situation but with God, there could never be an impossibility. He used the scorching wind and created a path for the Israelites to walk across the Red Sea. As he did then, He would do it again. God would create a highway to enable the remnant to return. Just as He guided the Israelites through the wilderness, a highway would be created to get the remnant home.

To be sure, it is always hard to visualize a glorious end when one is caught between a rock and a hard place. We need to know that in God’s scheme of things for our lives, He will never lead us into caves but only through tunnels. In His plan, there may come difficult times but there will always be light at the end. We need to know that the issue is never about God’s ability to take us through but our ability to trust Him in the face of adversities.  So we must trust God and the promises He has made in His Word. He promises a glorious future for His people and we must take Him at His word, even in the face of intimidating circumstances. God never fails in a single promise He has made. Trust Him!    

Isaiah 11:6-9 – Our glorious hope

Having described the Messiah and how He would minister in Isaiah 6:1-5, the prophet now turned to talk about the Messianic Kingdom in verses 6-9. We can see that there will be a radical change in the nature of the ferocious animals. These aggressive animals will no longer prey on one another but instead, be transformed in their nature. Be it a wolf, a leopard, a young lion, or a bear, all will be so subdued that even a child can lead them. Verse 8 tells us that even cobras and vipers would become harmless that even children, both nursing or weaned ones, can play in their nest and not be harmed.

When Messiah’s Kingdom is established, and His holy mountain set, then the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea. All hurts and pain brought about by the previous deformed society will be brought under the healing grace of the Messiah. God’s people will finally be one. Peace will be the prevailing order, and no one will oppress another. The whole environment will be safe and there shall be no dark corner. There will be perfect healing. He will bring about perfect restoration. The Messiah and His domain will be the only solution to all human poverty, plight, and aggression.  

No wonder Paul could categorically say in Romans 8:18 “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Explaining further, in verse 19, the Apostle saw all creation on tiptoe eagerly waiting for that glorious moment. He then said in verse 23, that we believers …having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

The question that confronts us is when will all these happen and who will bring it to pass? We know when Jesus the Messiah comes again, all these will begin to find their fruition. For now, God is calling on us to believe in Him and to declare the good news that He is still offering. He whom the whole world despised at His first coming will be coming again. This time He comes to rule and reign sovereignly and no one has the power to stop Him. When He ushers in His Kingdom He will reign with perfect peace and harmony. Hallelujah, what a glorious hope!

Isaiah 11:1-5 – Jesus the Messiah

In Isaiah 10, God assured His people that Assyria would merely be a rod in His hand. He meant to tell Israel that after He had used Assyria to administer His discipline, He would turn to discipline Assyria for her arrogance and pride which she was oblivious of. As powerful as she was, Assyria would be like a thick forest cleared by the ax of God. Indeed as a nation, she was eventually destroyed and her whole ungodly system annihilated. But God also warned Israel that she would not be spared. He told them that only a remnant of them would be preserved and purified. Here in Isaiah 11, God told them how from the remnant of a stump, He would raise the Messiah and establish the Messianic Kingdom.

In Isaiah 11:1-5. we learn about the Messiah. He would be the righteous stump whom God would raise through the stem of Jesse. In other words, this Messiah would hail from the line of David. From this little stem, a shoot would grow and become a strong fruit-bearing tree. We know that this Messiah is none other than Jesus Christ our Lord.  Referring to the Messiah, verse 2 said that the Holy Spirit would rest upon Him and He would operate under the full endowment of the Holy Spirit. The Gospels made it clear that at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit like a dove descended and rested upon Him. Throughout His earthly ministry, He operated under that strong anointing of the Spirit. Three pairs of spiritual grace were clearly seen in the Messiah’s ministry. The first pair was wisdom and understanding, the second, counsel and strength, and the third, knowledge and fear of the Lord.

Like none other, Jesus the Messiah operated consistently under the influence of the Spirit. The fear of the Lord motivated His ministry. And He did not need to depend on the outward appearance of men to deal with them. With a keen sense of discernment and perception, He dealt with each man righteously. Unlike human arbitrators, Messiah was fair and judicious. The poor were never exploited, for with equity He dealt righteously with them. Jesus the Messiah came and dealt with the wickedness of the earth. Righteousness and faithfulness marked His life and ministry.  

We are thankful to God for giving us the privilege of knowing Jesus the Messiah. Though He came in obscurity, He has made Himself known to us. Now that we know Him, we want Him to mean more than anything or anyone else in our life. He came to identify with us so that we can become one with Him. As we embrace Him, our weakness shall be made perfect by His power. Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

 

Isaiah 10:24-34 – In God’s refining process

While God would use Assyria to discipline His people, He urged them not to be disheartened. Why? Because the discipline would only be for a season and purpose. For when He was done using Assyria as His instrument of discipline, He would also deal with them as He did with Egypt in the past. Tough as God’s dealing with His people might be, it was all done out of His love for them. For those whom God loves, He chastens. Our comfort is this: God is never out to destroy us. No matter what tough measure He uses to deal with us, He has a purpose in all of them. His intention is always for our good.   

Isaiah substantiated what he said with two historical incidences where God brought them through two seemingly impossible victories. The first was the victory that Israel had over the Midianites. This was a reference to Judges 7:19-21 wherewith 300 men,  Gideon with a God-given strategy routed the enemies. The second was the victory recorded in Exodus 14 where the people of Israel were helplessly caught between Pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit and the Red Sea. At that point, the people of Israel were not even capable of fighting, let alone fighting back. Yet God used the Red Sea to swallow up Pharaoh’s army and destroyed them totally. With reference to these two incidences, God was assuring His people to stay confident in Him despite the discipline. Like them, we should also take heart and remember that whatever means God uses to deal with us, He only has our best interest at heart.   

  

Verses 28-32 describe how relentlessly the Assyrians would pursue Israel. Step by step they would pursue God’s people. They arrogantly hounded Israel without realizing that they themselves were scheduled to face the ax of God themselves. While they were pursuing Israel, they did not know that God’s ax was laid at the root of their pride, ready to hew them off. The power they wielded would soon be diminished by God Himself. Like branches of a tree being chopped off, they would come crashing down. Their pride would not be able to hold up against God. Like a thick forest, they would be lopped off by God’s sharp ax. None could resist God’s dealing, not even the enemy.

 

At the heart of God’s dealing with us, it has always been His deep love. While God accepts us the way we are, yet He loves us far too much to leave us the way we are. He has a far better plan for each one of us. Jesus tells us that God, like the careful vinedresser, will cut off every fruitless branch. But every branch that bears fruit, He will prune so that it will bear much more fruit. Tough circumstances we face in life are God’s cutting and pruning processes. Through them, God is pruning and refining us. When He is through with us, like Job, we shall come forth pure as gold. So, learn to yield to God’s refining processes in our lives.

Isaiah 10:20-23 – Be sure our trust is in God

God guaranteed Assyria’s destruction even as He promised to deal with Israel for their waywardness. And in His dealings with Israel, only a remnant would be preserved. Here in Isaiah 10:20-23, the prophet talked about Israel’s remnant that God would purify and preserve. Just as Assyria which would be devastated leaving very few survivors, Israel would also be purified till only a remnant would be left. Interestingly, years ago, God’s covenant with Abraham was that his descendants would be as numerous as the grain of sands on the seashore, but here Isaiah promised that only a small number would be graciously preserved and purified and set apart by His righteousness.

 

Verse 20 said that they whom God would preserve would no longer lean on Assyria but would return in truth to rely on the Holy One of Israel. Here we get the sense that the true people of Israel would not be marked by their link to the patriarch more than their willingness to repent and return to the Lord. The people of Israel had long prided themselves as Abraham’s children as if that relationship gave them a license to do as they wished. Here God was saying that the link with Abraham is only as great as they, like him, would be willing to obey and walk rightly before Him. God expected them to trust Him. And if they had not, they must repent and return to trust Him.   

 

The issue in our faith journey is where we place our trust. When confronted by the uncertainty of the situation, instead of trusting God, Israel placed their hope on the Assyrians. Like the people of Israel, Christians could also have misplaced trust in times of uncertainty. There is also a possibility for us to place our trust in leadership, counselors, in programs, and yes even in the name of the church we attend. Here we can see the desire of God is for a people who would place their trust in Him. Like the preserved remnant, true believers place their hope and trust in God. No matter how well run a church may be, how capable we think our leaders are, we must make God the prime object of our trust and love. Let our faith and allegiance be found completely in God. Nothing should or can replace Him!   

Isaiah 10:16-19 – Pride or humility - the choice is clear!

Earlier in Isaiah 10, God said He would use Assyria to chasten Israel, His people. The problem with the Assyrians was that they thought too highly of themselves. They were oblivious that they were merely pawns in God’s hand. While God referred to Israel as godless, that did not mean that Assyria was not. It just meant that God could not tolerate sin. Be it Assyria or Israel, sin would be a matter that would always be dealt with by God. Isaiah 10:16-19 show how God dealt with haughty Assyria.

Two ways in which God would deal with Assyria were indicated in verse 16. Firstly, God would allow a wasting disease to affect Assyria’s stout warriors. There will be a gradual weakening of the spirit of the fighting men that their strength would rot. Secondly, God would send a fire. What was this fire? It was the external force that God would use to wilt Assyria and bring her to her knees. History said that in later years, Assyria became a weakened force internally because of effeminacy and externally they withered and collapsed under the invasion of the combined forces of the Median and Babylonian.     

 

In verse 17, using two titles, Isaiah referred to God as the Light of Israel and the Holy One. It was God who would deal with Assyria. As Light and Fire, God would destroy Assyria and bring about its utter devastation. His dealing with that haughty nation would be thorough and complete, and it was within a short span of time. Verse 18 tells us that not only would the glory of Assyria as a nation be destroyed, but her people described as “the soul and body” would be weakened and faint. Verse 19 indicates that those who survive God’s dealing would be so few that even children would be able to number them and write them down. As surely as God had guaranteed in Isaiah 10:12, saying “So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.” And God did deal with Assyria, both her king and subjects.

 

God abhors pride and arrogance. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” Instead of pride, we should live humbly. Pride is a sure ingredient for trouble. Do not court trouble by being haughty. Instead, be humble and develop an attitude of gratitude that will enable us to live gratefully for all the goodness and blessings of God.

Isaiah 10:5-15 – We are merely God’s instrument

Assyria was a tool in God’s hand. This foreign northern nation was an instrument God used to deal with His godless people. It may seem strange that God should use the term “godless” to describe Israel. Shouldn’t this word more aptly describe the Assyrians? The use of this word on His people clearly shows us God has only one measuring standard as far as sin is concerned. Israel was just as godless as the Assyrians. Even though Israel was His chosen nation, it did not make God evaluate them differently. Sin will always be sin in God’s sight, as it was for Assyria, so also for Israel. As Christians, we need to know that sin will always be sin in God’s sight. As His people, we are not exempted from discipline if we choose to adopt a sinful lifestyle.  

In this passage, it is also clear that God is sovereign. Being sovereign, no nation is outside of His control. It is His prerogative to use whichever nation He so chooses to deal with His people. Isaiah tells us here that He chose to use Assyria to deal with godless Israel to get them into alignment. Here the Assyrians did not even know that they were tools in God’s hand. They thought they were mighty in themselves. They boasted of their power and how they had subdued nations. Yet unknown to them they were merely pawns in the hand of God. Though Assyria thought highly of her might and capturing Israel was a prized catch to them, they did not realize that it all happened because God so purposed it.

Assyria boasted of her might, oblivious that she was only an instrument God had chosen to use to align His people. To God, this was where their misery started. So, we see in verse 5 how God through Isaiah began to pronounce woe on them. There is a lesson here that we must learn. As instruments whom God chooses to use, we must not be tempted to think of ourselves too greatly. Our capacity to impact people is a God-given privilege. Without Him, we cannot do a single thing. Hence, the minute we allow the thought that we must be great because we are used by God, we will be in for some reality check. Remember God will give grace to the humble but He will resist the proud. Serve diligently by all means but give God the glory for the successes. He alone deserves all the praise!

Isaiah 10:1-4 – Maximizing our stewardship

In Isaiah 9:8-21, Isaiah described three of the four flaws that Israel had committed and warned them of their outcomes. Firstly in verses 8-12, God pointed out their pride and arrogance which He warned would lead to humiliation. Secondly, in verses 13-17, God revealed how they had shown a careless disregard for their waywardness. There was not even the slightest hint of regret or remorse. That, God warned, would make them especially their leaders irresponsible. Thirdly, in verses 18-21, God showed them how their self-serving ways would lead to self-destruction.

Now in Isaiah 10:1-4, we come to the fourth flaw. People who were tasked to administer justice were not only unjust but oppressive toward the poor and needy. Caring and not exploiting the poor and the less fortunate was one area that the Old Testament constantly addresses. God has a heart of compassion for the poor and needy and had a strong objection in seeing them being mistreated. Here Isaiah pronounced woe upon the administrators who constantly made bad and unjust decisions against the poor, the widows, and orphans. The plight of these needy ones was being exploited and unjust decisions in courts were made against them. God warned them that in the impending judgment, they would find themselves helpless. He said that they would be devastated by the foreign forces which He would use to execute His judgment. There would be no one whom they could turn to. And they would be no place that they could store their ill-gained wealth. God guaranteed that when judgment fell, nothing they had gained would remain as they were. Everything would be carried away by their captors. Eventually, all these came to pass. Israel was conquered and decimated by the Assyrians. And all that was once theirs were carried away by their captives.     

 

There is something about the questions that God asked in verse 3, that should cause us to pause and ponder. Allow me to rephrase the questions and make it relevant to us. What would we reply on that day when we are called to give an account of the resources God has entrusted to us? To whom can we seek help when we have not clearly discharged our obligations? What will happen with whatever we have hoarded that should have been used to help the needy and less fortunate? Beloved, we are God’s stewards. First Corinthians 4:2 said that “…it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” We are all called to wisely steward the resources God has entrusted to us. How have we been using our treasures, our time, and our talents? Let us maximize whatever we still have, to fulfill God’s purpose for His glory!     

Isaiah 9:18-21 – Don’t be self-serving

One thing becomes obvious when we read Isaiah 9:18-21, we see a self-serving people being described. They were so consumed with themselves that all they sought for were their own wicked desire and needs. It is said that in the last line of verse 19 that “no one spares his brother.” Being self-absorbed they were unwittingly destroying each other in the family. And due to the destructive power inherent in their sin, they were devouring each other like a fire burning up everything in its way. As a family, they ought to be concerned for each other, but this was not the case. They were selfishly devouring each other up. Their self-seeking nature made them turn on each other and destroy each other. It was not uncommon to read of kings of Israel who had ascended the throne by assassinating the king before him.

Verse 19 tells us sin became the fuel for God to unleash His wrath. He allowed His people to turn on each other and devour themselves. Know it or not the sin of mankind had somehow unleashed its own destructive power on mankind themselves. Verse 20 clearly tells us that a self-serving people the people of Israel would take on each other yet remain unsatisfied. It shows us that the wicked and sinful ambition of man is simply unquenchable.

 

In many places, the Bible exhorts us not to be self-seeking but to be concerned for each other in God’s family. In Galatians 6:2 we are called to bear one another’s burden. In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul reminded the early believers to “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;  do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Galatians 5:15 has a warning for us to take note. We are not to chew each other up. We should not keep biting and devouring each other for our own personal ambition. Like Isaiah 9:18-21, this verse is calling on us not to be drawn unwittingly to get at each other out of selfish ambition. Don’t be self-seeking, self-serving, and ending up in self-destruction!

Isaiah 9:13-17 – Living responsibly

In Isaiah 9:8-12, Isaiah saw how the pride and arrogance of Israel would bring utter humiliation. They resisted the love of God extended to them even through His harsh dealings. Instead of turning to God, they went further away from Him. God through the prophet was telling them that humiliation was inevitable.

Isaiah 9:13-17 brings us to the second flaw of Israel. The people were nonchalant about God’s dealings with them. There was not the slightest smidgen of regret detected in waywardness. In not regretting their wrong, everyone would become recklessly irresponsible, especially the leaders. “Head and tail”, “palm branch and bulrush” are terms referring to the whole nation. What these terms suggest is that the nation from the leadership to the ordinary citizen was corrupt. The unruliness was not only seen at the leader’s level but also among the ordinary citizenry of Israel. There was clearly a disconnect. So persistent in their errant ways the leaders became wild and reckless. False prophets were teaching falsehood, leading the people astray and into confusion.  From top to bottom, from young to old, from men to women, and etc, everyone became unacceptable before God.

 

When facing relentless problems and crises, where or who do we normally run to? We need to know that the only safe direction to run to is Godward. The only sensible thing to do is return to God, evaluate, and repent. Not to do so would be utter foolishness that would lead us into further confusion. Note also, that when leaders become recklessly irresponsible, the people become unhinged. It behooves us, leaders or otherwise, to be sensitive to God and to keep short accounts with Him. This will allow us to keep making needful adjustments in our walk with God so that we can build a life that will please Him. It will also help us to be sensitive to His dealings with us.   

 

Isaiah 9:8-12 – Don’t be proud but be humble

The motivation of God’s dealing has always been His love. Either with gentleness or tough measures, He did it out of love. God’s wrath is a demonstration of His tough love. So one common refrain we discover in reading the rest of Isaiah 9 is this phrase, “In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out.” In fact, this phrase would again be repeated in Isaiah 10:4. So in total, we see this phrase repeated four times. On closer look, we can tell that each time this phrase is repeated, a flaw of Israel is pointed out. But this phrase also points us to the tough love of God. He took severe measures to try to get them to return to Him. It would take too much time to deal with all four at once. So we shall deal with it one at a time.

The first time this phrase appeared is in Isaiah 9:12. Bear in mind that up to now, Isaiah was largely addressing Judah. From verse 8, we see that this time he had turned to address the people of Israel. How do we know? From the mention of Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria. Here the first thing God was dealing with was their pride and arrogance. The message was clear, their pride had made their humiliation inevitable.  

 

Obviously, we can see that Israel was being attacked militarily. Their bricks had fallen, and their sycamores were cut down. Yet they did not take the time to evaluate what went wrong and identify the reason for their plight. Instead, they took the time to do a “facelift.” For bricks that were fallen, they resorted to using smooth stones. And for sycamores that were cut down, they used cedar. They did not take time to try and identify what led to their predicament. They failed to see that there were reasons that led them to their quandary. They were so self-absorbed, there was no self-examination nor humility.

 

Verse 11 said that God then raised the “enemies of Rezin”, meaning Assyria to deal with them. On top of that, He also allowed the Syrians and the Philistines to intrude into their territories and bring great troubles. Even then Israel did not respond aptly. So God would persist in dealing with them with His tough love.  

 

The lesson is clear, God gives grace to the humble but will resist the proud. It is wise to take time to take stock of our life, especially when the situation is tough going. The principle of cause and effect always happens. So when things go wrong, we need to take time to identify the cause and make needful amendments. Remember, God is not through with us yet. He is seeking to bring the very best out of us. And He would use tough love to draw us to Himself. Don’t resist it!

Isaiah 9:1-7 – The ultimate triumph of grace

So far, we have seen that Ahaz, by choosing not to trust God, had plunged Judah in chaos and darkness. The suffering of Judah was not at the hands of the alliance of the kings, Pekah and Rezin. Her suffering came from Assyria and Egypt, especially the former. Under the crushing hand of Assyria, Judah would be left in despair for a while. Then a great light over the land would dawn. What happened to Ahaz tells us that the choice we make in life matters, especially when it comes to trusting God. Whether we will continue to walk in darkness or in God’s marvelous light would be determined by the decision we make. Making the right choice in life is critical.

In the past, whenever Israel was under attack, lands occupied by the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, near the Sea of Galilee, would be the first to be trampled upon by the invading forces. But in this prophecy, the tide would reverse. They would be the first to see the coming of the great light. In seven verses from Isaiah 9:1-7, the prophet foretold of an upcoming day of a breakthrough. There is an eclipse of Christ’s first and second coming in these verses.

 

A glorious light was predicted to be breaking forth on the land starting from the north, in the region of Galilee. This is attested to by the early ministry of Jesus. His ministry began from the north of Galilee. That is the reason why He has often been referred to as a Galilean. In Jesus’ coming the judgment upon God’s people would be broken. He was the Child that would be born. He would be given marvelous titles and the ultimate authority. And He shall rule over David’s kingdom, not only in justice but also in righteousness.

 

When Christ first broke into the scene, He brought a message to dispel gloom and darkness. Ultimately, He will show that grace has triumphed over darkness. Those walking under the shadow of thick darkness would be blinking under the glorious new light of God’s blinding grace. The second person pronoun “You,” in verse 3, is referring to God. He would be the One who would usher in the great light. The people that He would gather would gain in momentum until His nation would enlarge. They would experience great joy like a harvester who had a huge bonus harvest, gladly dividing the spoils.         

 

In verses 4-7, we see the effectiveness of the Messiah’s ministry. He would break bondages and bring a decisive end to all conflicts we had to endure. None can do it as effectively as He. For on His shoulder God’s ultimate authority rests. We are told that His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of peace. Jesus came the first time to redeem us and He will come again to claim the throne forever. And there shall be no end to His Kingdom and no bound to His power. He will come back again not to deal with man’s problem but to establish the ultimate correction to our systemic evil. Verse 7 refers to the ultimate rule of Christ where perfect justice and righteousness will be the call of the day. This is guaranteed. What a glorious God! What a glorious hope!

Isaiah 8:19-22 – Live wisely and discerningly

Ahaz and the people of Isaiah’s day would not trust God despite God’s magnanimous extension of His grace. They persistently rejected this grace, so God would set them aside and turn to a remnant that would be faithful to Him. In Isaiah 8:9-18, we were shown the characteristics of the remnant. They were not only marked by the presence of God but also the fear and the truth of God. And such people we must be if we are to bring the light of God into a darkened world.

However, the questions asked in verse 19 reveal that there were those among the people of Judah, whose lives showed how detached they were from God. They were turning to medium and spiritists for guidance and direction. The questions Isaiah asked were poignant. “Should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead, on behalf of the living?” How senseless could they get! Why would they want to turn from the only safe guide, the law of God, and His testimony, to the words of medium and spiritists? It was sheer stupidity! They had the privilege to the truth, yet would not value them. Instead of embracing the truth, they were pivoting to the words provided by medium and spiritists. No one could get any worthwhile direction from necromancy because those mediums had no dawn. They did not have any internal light, hence no illumination within them. They could never tell the truth.

Here we see how contrasting it can be between genuine faith and spurious faith. To embrace genuine faith is to have light and to embrace the latter is to take on total darkness. Both genuine and spurious faith could be staring at the Word of God, one would bring discernment, and the other yield naught and force one to turn totally in the wrong direction. One leads to light and joyful relations with God and the other misguides and leads to a catastrophic world of darkness and gloom.

We conclude this chapter with the question that Isaiah asked, “should not a people consult their God?” We who fear the Lord know that only in Him can we discover true wisdom. In Him, we find discernment and discover the true purpose of living. Here’s an encouragement from 1 Corinthians 2:9 that says, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” What a privilege!

Isaiah 8:9-18 – Characteristics of God’s people

In Isaiah 7:3, the Lord instructed Isaiah, saying “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub….” The name of his son means “a remnant shall return.” God was making known to Ahaz, the panicking king, that He would prepare a remnant among His people. From Isaiah 8:1-8, we were told how the Assyrians would defeat Syria and Israel and would even trouble Judah till she could hardly survive. But despite Assyria’s dominance, God would deal with the situation. Assyria would be destroyed while troubled Judah would remain Immanuel’s land. He would preserve a people for Himself. Here in Isaiah 8:9-18, the prophet begins to speak about the remnant of God’s people.

The first characteristic of the remnant of God was that they were set aside by God’s presence. Verses 9-10 indicate that God’s presence would set the remnant apart. King Ahaz and his people were petrified by the threat of the coalition of Pekah and Rezin and shook like trees blown by the wind. But this remnant remained defiantly confident in God. They dared the enemy to do what they could, for they refused to be cowed for they knew whose they were. They were certain of God’s presence with them. This should describe people who dare to trust the Lord. When we are assured that Jesus is with us in the storm of life, the threatening waves do not intimidate us. We remain confident in Him. We are marked out by His presence.  

Verses 11-15 tell us that the fear of God would be the second characteristic that marked out the remnant whom God has set aside. They viewed the situation from a different perspective. Unlike Ahaz and the rest who saw the allied forces and trembled, the remnant like Isaiah would instead look through the menacing forces to the fear of God. They would rather fear the Lord than fear the circumstances. It is true that when our fear is in the Lord, He becomes our sanctuary, our place of refuge. The key in such an experience is this: do not focus on the events that terrify us but let our focus be on the God who will stabilize us.   

The third characteristic of the remnant was that they would be set aside by the truth of God. Here in verses 16-18 is the call for the truth of God to be preserved and sealed up for a generation that would take heed to God’s word. It underscores the importance of treasuring God’s Word and finding hope in them. Ahaz did not value God’s Word, but the remnant God had preserved would. When we take the Word of God seriously, we become the fulfillment of this prophecy for our generation.

The presence of the Lord, the fear of the Lord and the truth of the Lord must mark our lives. The people whom God has set aside for Himself are people who recognize and honor His presence. They are those who fear Him, and also acknowledge His truth and live by them. Through Christ, God has called us to be such people. This is affirmed in  Hebrews 2:13 where Christ was purported to have said, “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me.” For His glory, let us seek to be God’s set-aside people!

Isaiah 8:1-8 – Experiencing the reality of Immanuel

Let us do a recap. King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Syria joined forces to deal with the rising threat of Assyria. They wanted to rope King Ahaz of Judah to join them in dealing with the menacing Assyrians. But he resisted the initiative. So when he heard the news of the Syrian army camping in Israel, he and his people panic. But God through Isaiah told him to rely on Him and trust Him to see them through. Assuring Ahaz that both Israel and Syria were two spent forces and were no match for Him, God wanted Ahaz to place his faith in Him. But the king of Judah would not. He would rather trust his own resourcefulness. So through Isaiah and his two sons, God foretold Ahaz and Judah all that would happen to them. But Ahaz would not trust God. So he was told what would eventually happen to them.

However, we note that despite Ahaz’s rejection of God’s overtures, He was still holding out His grace to him and Judah. God challenged him to ask for a serious sign so that he could be convinced. But the king would not, so God gave him the sign of Immanuel. This sign we say has a double fulfillment. One has to do with the coming of Jesus the Messiah. The other has to do with the birth of Maher-shalal-hashbaz, Isaiah’s own son who is being described in Isaiah 8:1-4. The message of Isaiah’s son is “Immanuel” i.e. God is present with His people. The significance of this message for us is this: the enemy of our soul has no chance when God is with us.   

Because of Ahaz’s outright refusal, God then described how thorough the coming judgment would be in Isaiah 7:18-25. We have dealt with this in our last discussion. In Isaiah 8:1-8, in poetic language, God through Isaiah described how His judgment would affect Judah. Like the water of the Euphrates overflowing the bank, Assyria would sweep both Syria and Israel away. But in the process, the Assyrian waves would also affect Judah. Verse 8 described how Judah would be affected. The waves of Assyria would also “sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through…reach even to the neck.” The relentless waves of Assyria would also come upon Judah till she could scarcely survive. The joyful result in verse 8 is that despite the hard time Assyria would give to Judah, it would eventually be no more. But the land of Judah would remain God’s.

With what we have discovered, the lesson remains that God’s grace is available for us in every tough situation in life. He wants us to trust Him and not in our own cleverness. Each situation in life is an opportunity to trust God and experience His deliverance. In all these, the key lesson to take away is this: trusting God must be the first order of life. There is no way we can save ourselves by our own effort. More than anything, we need to save ourselves from ourselves. The call is for us to ensure that Immanuel is not just a name but a relationship to cultivate with God. It is taking time to make sure that His presence with us is a present reality. When this is true, we do not need to tip-toe through life. In fact, we will soar with Him gloriously. What a life to go for!   

Isaiah 7:18-25 – The dangers of wilful disobedience

We talked about Ahaz’s unwillingness to trust the Lord but in his own resourcefulness. Despite God’s offer to help if he should trust Him, he chose to rely on the Assyrians for assistance to deal with Pekah and Rezin, the northern alliance. The Assyrians whom Judah turned to for help eventually turned on them and troubled her. In eight verses Isaiah showed how God would judge Judah because they chose to snub the generous grace He had extended to them. Here in eight verses, Isaiah described the thoroughness of the judgment of God. Using the phrase “in that day” four times, the prophet showed how extensive the judgment of God upon Judah would be.     

Firstly, what God would bring about to terrorize Judah would be effortless on His part. At a mere whistle of the Lord, the Egyptians referred to as the fly and the Assyrians as the bee would storm the land. God would allow the region’s great powers to hasten down on Judah effortlessly.     

Secondly, verse 20 suggests that Judah’s humiliation would be thorough and complete. The Assyrians, whom Judah would secure to help them deal with the northern alliance, would instead turn on them. Like a sharp razor, the Assyrians would completely shave off the hair on their heads and legs and even removed their beard. That was how thorough a humiliation Judah would have to endure.  

Thirdly, in verses 21-22, hardship would descend on the people. They would be deprived of the luxuries of life and their sustenance would be “curds and honey.” And finally, in verses 23-25, God meant to tell them that all their accomplishment would amount to nothing. Everything they once enjoyed would be reduced to brier and thrones. Devoid of people, the land they once dwelt would become “a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.”

From these verses, we need to consider the serious consequences for every decision we make in life. The outcome Ahaz and Judah went through ought to warn us not to take obeying God lightly. While He would rather bless than harm us, the call is ours to make. We really don’t need God to use toughness to help us align if we willingly choose to yield to Him. No one should be so foolish that even with the experience of hardship, yet not submit to God. Allow 1 Peter 5:6 to guide our walk with God. It says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time…”      

Isaiah 7:10-17 – Yield wholeheartedly to God

King Ahaz was the grandson of King Uzziah. Unlike the Prophet Isaiah, who served both his grandfather Uzziah and his father Jotham before him, he would not trust God. We saw how he would rather lean on his own resourcefulness than God when threatened. He refused God’s invitation through Isaiah to trust Him when the coalition of Pekah and Rezin threatened to remove him. Sending Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub  along with the prophet, God was giving an added assurance to Ahaz. He was indicating to him that even in the worst-case scenario, a remnant would return. Here is an indication that God would take a step downward to meet men at the point of his needs. But even with taking a step toward him, Ahaz still stoutly refused to trust God. Bear in mind that God would allow a crisis to come upon His people when they would not trust Him as they should. There is always a price to pay for refusal to trust. But let’s be assured that grace is still God’s preferred way of working.

Despite being turned down, God was still gracious. He did not just walk away from the king. In fact, He invited Ahaz to ask for a serious sign to be assured that God would remain his faithful partner. His offer to the king was, “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” This was God’s sincere invitation to Ahaz. Even with the extremely generous offer, Ahaz chose to turn down God’s overture saying, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!” The last part of his response sounded spiritual and pious, right? Alas, it was nothing but a wilful rejection of God’s kind offer. It was the hypocrisy of the highest order. It is not uncommon to see seemingly religious people refusing to commit to God with pious sounding words. This was the case for Ahaz.

Notice how Isaiah put it to the king in verse 11. How more explicitly could he get? He was in effect saying, “Hey Ahaz, this is your God who wants to rescue you. Why won’t you yield to Him?”  Still, the king turned a deaf ear to the prophet’s plea. Here is proof that there is none so deaf who refuses to hear. So instead of addressing Ahaz alone, the Lord now turns to Judah with a message saying, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?” The change from “your God” in verse 11 to “my God” in verse 13 was telling. It was Isaiah’s way of saying, “Ahaz your opportunity is over, and my God is no longer on your side.”  

However God, Himself would still send a sign for Judah. Verse 14 says, “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” The emphasis is not so much on the status of the mother as the message of the sign that would accompany it. There is a principle in prophetic literature that we need to take note of. There is both a future fulfillment as well as an immediate context in the prophet’s own time. In the Gospel of Matthew, this verse is taken as a prophecy on the coming of Jesus the Messiah. Remember the Angel Gabriel telling virgin Mary that the son she was to bear would be called “Immanuel”, meaning “God with us”. However, the other context of this verse is linked to the birth of Isaiah’s own son Maher-shalal-hashbaz, described in Isaiah 8:1-4. The birth of the son was a sign of the promise of God’s presence with Judah to see to her survival and the destruction of the allied forces of Syria and Israel. In verse 17, Isaiah told the house of David that God would be using the Assyrians to bring about His discipline on Ahaz and of the people of Judah.

What can we learn from this passage? Not trusting God exacts a costly price. There is no disadvantage when we trust God to take us through our battles in life. Everything and everyone is at His disposal to bring about the fulfilment of His plan in His people. When we take Him at His Word and yield to His ways, we will find Him with us in our battles. It makes perfect sense to surrender our all to Him, to His timing, His purpose in our lives, and His glory. God’s miracle awaits us when we yield to His Kingdom agenda!

Isaiah 7:1-9 – Trust God and not our own resources

To understand Isaiah 7, we need to go back in time to when Israel became divided into two kingdoms. After Solomon’s death, ten tribes of Israel under Jeroboam withdrew from the house of David and formed their own kingdom in the north. They collectively came to be referred to as Israel or Ephraim in the Bible. Samaria was made the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south remained with the Davidic dynasty in Jerusalem.

Then there came a time when Assyria arose in power and became a dominant force terrorizing the nations around them. Israel, the Northern Kingdom under the rule of Pekah, then joined forces with Rezin, the king of Aram or Syria in their attempt to protect themselves against the Assyrians. These two allied kings then tried to rope Judah in to collaborate with them to form an even stronger force against the Assyrians. But King Ahaz resisted the coercion. So Pekah and Rezin threatened to attack Judah and place a puppet king in his place.   

So in verse 2 we read that when news reached King Ahaz that the Arameans or Syrians army was camping in Ephraim, he and his people became disheartened. Verse 2 said, they “…shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind”. In other words, they were terrified and panic-stricken. However, verse 1 clearly states that the attempt of the northern alliance would not succeed, and “they could not conquer it.” The truth we need to know is this: when God is for and with us, we have no reason to panic.

God then sent Isaiah to meet Ahaz to assure the king and counsel him what to do. The prophet was to tell the king, “Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.” For added confidence, the prophet was told to bring along his son Shear-jashub. This is significant for the name means “a remnant shall return.” What God wanted Ahaz to see was that the forces that were coming up against Judah were mere men. They were like spent burning stubs. Ahaz and Judah need not panic for God was on their side. Unfortunately, Ahaz could not bring himself to place his entire trust in the Lord. This was suggested when Isaiah was sent to meet him “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field.” Ahaz was out there to inspect the water supplies pending the attack of the northern alliance. He would rather trust his own resourcefulness than God.  

The audience that Isaiah was addressing did not trust God as they should. If they had they would have abandoned themselves to the Almighty. But they would rather trust their own ingenuity than the assurance God gave. In these verses, we sense that God is inviting us to trust Him entirely and not in our own resourcefulness. No matter how tough our circumstance in life may seem, know that God is here for us. He wants us to trust Him rather than our own strength and assets. We should learn to abandon ourselves to His loving care. He is trustworthy!

Isaiah 6:11-13 – Be tenderhearted towards God

Imagine how Isaiah felt, he was told in advance that he would be speaking to an unresponsive audience. How more discouraging could it be? That was Isaiah’s situation. God told him in advance that his message would come against a blank wall. The people would hear but not understand nor perceive. And instead of being receptive would become callous and cold. It would seem like an exercise in futility. No wonder the prophet wanted to know how long he would have to do that. “How long, O Lord?” Isaiah asked. No one would like to be engaged in a fruitless task. More than just thinking about the duration of the fruitless exercise he had to be engaged in, Isaiah was perhaps wondering how long would the people harden against God? He wanted to know what was God’s objective? Would the people ever improve? Where would all this be heading towards? He wondered and so would we.

In verses 11-13 God responded to Isaiah. The land of Judah would be devastated and left without any inhabitant. Their houses would be depleted of people. Their men would be exiled in a faraway land. Left behind would be loads of forsaken land. However, even in His judgment, God was gracious. He was clearing the land for new growth. God promised a holy seed in its stump. There would be a remaining 10 percent of people that would be responsive to God. He was going to preserve a remnant of people that would respond to Him. This group would be set apart for His holy purpose.

How will we respond to God’s grace? In all that we see here, God was looking for responsive hearts. If only there was a positive response, all this could have been avoided. The holy seed that would emerge from the stump of course is Jesus Christ. Today, through Him God is still looking for responsive hearts, people who would seek to understand and know Him. The coming of Jesus Christ meant that the world now has a hope. Jesus came to bring back the purpose of God.

Can we make sense of what God is saying? The crux is this: a hardened heart is our own undoing. Nothing can be more destructive than a cold, dead, and unresponsive heart to the bidding of God. It behooves us to cultivate sensitivity to the leading of God. In the Christian walk, there are two guiding posts. Ephesians 4:30 warns us saying, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, we are told “not to quench the Spirit.” To grieve the Spirit is to do the things that He warns us not to do. And to quench the Spirit is the failure to do what God is leading us to do. We should always seek to obey God by neither grieving nor quenching His Spirit. God is looking at our hearts and seeing how we will respond to His guidance. Let us not allow our spirit to become callous, hardened, and unresponsive to God. We need to tenderize our hearts toward Him. Be sure to make time to do so!

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 6:8-10 – Stay pliable in God’s hand

Isaiah was a seer, we are not told of his mission prior to this chapter. Perhaps like Elisha and many of the sons of the prophets we read about in the other Old Testament books, he was raised through the prophetic school. His ministry up to this point was ordinary, to say the least. But now with his lips cleansed by a seraph, he could hear the voice of God more distinctively and clearly. The compelling call of the Trinitarian was: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” It is true that no one who has such a radical experience can remain unmoved. So Isaiah’s response was, “Here am I. Send me!” Today God is still beckoning for us whom He has touched to go and proclaim the Gospel. The issue is, can we hear the same beckoning that Isaiah heard? Remember the call of God is still for us to “go and tell the people.” Jesus’ Great Commission for us is also to go to all the nations and make disciples. Conscious of it or not, we are all messengers like Isaiah. We are called to do God’s mission.   

Judging from verses 9-10, Isaiah’s mission seemed to be a difficult one. He would be speaking to a people who would keep on listening but not able to perceive. Keep on looking but not understand. Why would God want to send him to a hardened people? It seems like Isaiah’s message would not stir them to repentance but would only make them callous and deaf. Instead of opening their eyes to see the truth, his mission would shut their eyes. What irony! Wouldn’t God want them to turn to Him? Reading these verses gives us a sense that God had become fed-up with that generation. Yet we can be sure that the heart of God is for all to turn to Him in repentance. How do we know? Second Peter 3:9 assures us so. It says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

 

What is the point of this? Haven’t we come across a situation despite the time spent to share the Gospel with a person, the less receptive the person would become? A person would never believe in God if he had made up his mind. The message of verses 9-10 is clear. Just like the sun that can melt ice yet at the same time harden clay, so also can God’s word makes one receptive or hardens towards Him. We can never depend on our personal wherewithal to make sense of God’s message. There are people who insist that if God would perform a miracle, then they would believe. But would they? Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit in our day to help bring about conviction of the truth. It is His grace that will make the difference. God’s desire is to transform us. But if we choose to be hardened, no amount of coaxing will change us. Remember, God is the Potter, and we can either remain pliable or hardened clay in His hand. Which do you choose to be? Choose wisely!

 

 

Isaiah 6:6-7 – Renewed for greater service

 Under conviction, Isaiah saw his true self. He saw how undone he was, a man of unclean lips dwelling among people of unclean lips. Though as God’s seer, he had not aptly represented Him, yet the Sovereign One in His grace gave him such a glorious encounter of Himself. And all at once, he was brought to see his real self and he realized how undone he was. That awareness led to conviction and repentance. He became aware of how undeserving he was of such a lofty revelation of the Holy One. Isaiah’s repentance opened the door for God to work afresh in his life.

A seraph, which literally means a fiery or burning one, then took a detour from his usual flight path. Picking a burning coal from the altar of sacrifice with a tong in his hand, he flew over to Isaiah and touched the lips of the prophet. As the burning coal touched his lips, the seraph declared saying “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” The wonderful experience was that the burning coal did not burn him but rather set his life straight. His guilt was removed, and his sin was forgiven. The prophet awoke to God and what He was called to do.

The burning coal that cleansed Isaiah was a foreshadow of Calvary, the atoning work of Christ. When we have a fresh encounter with God through Christ’s atoning work, we will be cleansed. That experience will be the beginning of new strength and journey. Who can be touched by the convicting power of Calvary and remain unchanged? Being touched by Christ’s atoning work will lift us from the lowest ebb of guilt to the highest height of confidence in God.

But for people who have known the Lord for a while and whose walk with Him had become mundane and service for Him inept, we too need a fresh touch from the burning coal from God’s altar. Like Isaiah, we need a fresh encounter with the Lord. We need one more touch of the burning, purifying coal from His altar. We need to be infused with the strength that He alone can supply. Beloved, we are in constant need of a fresh glimpse of God, a new touch from His Spirit. Yes, we need a constant renewal of spiritual vitality, one that will liberate us from our inept service. We must make it our business to offer only red hot service to the One who deserves only our very best!

Isaiah 6:4-6 – Awareness precedes repentance

Describing what took place before God, Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. He was so overawed by the majestic presence of God as he watched the seraphim, probably too large a number to be counted, flying around the throne of God crying holy, holy, holy. Each seraph had six wings and with two it covered its face for it was hard to stare into the holiness of a perfect God. Then with two others, it covered its feet, a sign of humility, and with the other two, it flew around swiftly and eagerly to do God’s bidding. The seraphim remind us to serve God willingly with great awe and swift-winged zeal. This Holy God deserves the best we can bring to serve Him.

As the voice of the Holy One on the throne sounded out, the whole foundation of the threshold of the temple shook and the temple was engulfed by smoke. What an astounding sight it must have been for Isaiah. No one can encounter such awesome holiness without realizing one’s wretchedness and sin. That was precisely what happened to the prophet. He saw his own wretchedness before God. So at that moment, he admitted and cried out, saying:

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

 

Unlike the seraphim, Isaiah realized that he had unclean lips. And that he was exactly like everyone else around him. Though a prophet, he was no different from everyone else. All were sinful people with unclean lips. This is what one transforming moment in God’s presence will do for us. It makes us realize that we are no better than everyone else. How easy it is for us to look at ourselves and see someone else’s life as less worthy than ours. But no one who has caught a glimpse of the holy God can continue to live life in a self-serving, self-justifying way. Humility always results when one catches sight of the lofty holy God.

 

Naturally, we humans are self-centred. We do not readily take time to scrutinize ourselves. Whenever we are pointed to something that we have done wrong, we immediately pivot to compare ourselves with others. We have the tendency to persuade ourselves that we are not as bad as someone else around us. Remember the Pharisee who stood in the temple and said, “God I thank You that I am not like others.” Beloved, until and unless we realize that we are sinners in need of grace we will not realize how we appear before God. May our personal prayer to God be, “Lord, let Your presence meet me at every turn of my life and make me realize that without Your transforming touch, I am no different from everyone else, in need of Your forgiveness. Help me to see myself as You see me and liberate me to become the person You expect me to be.” Amen!