A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD— and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. Isaiah 11:1-10
In these early prophecies of Isaiah, the prophet pronounced judgment on the people of Judah. They had forsaken God. They had turned to false gods. Their country was on the verge of collapse. Yet, in the middle of some very strong words, God gives Isaiah this beautiful vignette of peace and tranquility beyond their imagination.
As you drink in these words from Isaiah 11, think about the turmoil in your own life. Isaiah wasn’t speaking about peace in a peaceful time. Isaiah’s words were meant for people who were confused. These were people who had tried everything that they knew to do, yet couldn’t make things any better. I can relate to those people at times.
Rather than scolding them one more time, God casts a vision for their future (and ours). Life on this earth is not all that there is to life. The problems that we face today are not problems that will last forever. Ultimately, Jesus will usher in an unprecedented time of tranquility. There will be no diplomatic cables appearing on Wikileaks then. There will be no negotiations. The Savior will merely declare it so. Enemies will be vanquished. Tensions will be released. Natural rivalries will be turned into unnatural friendships.
While we haven’t seen these times, those of us who belong to Christ have tasted them. The outward workings of redemption are yet to come. Humanity and all creation long for that day. But, today those who belong to Christ can experience this kind of peace in our hearts.
The Bible tells us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). We can possess peace that is not rightfully ours, by giving our problems and turmoil over to God.
God knows what we will experience in Heaven. He also knows what we will experience when our problems are resolved. God, in His grace, gives us the peace of a resolved problem, even while He’s still working to resolve things.
What turmoil are you experiencing today? What chaos needs to be brought into order? God is waiting to give you His peace. You just need to give Him your problem.
Follow us on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/galatians419
To subscribe or leave a comment on the galatians419 devotional blog: http://galatians419.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment