Isaiah 62

Scripture: from verse 2

you shall be called by a new name
    that the mouth of the Lord will give.

Observation: It’s not like the names God’s people already had were especially bad.  The verse before uses “Zion” and “Jerusalem” which mean “landmark” and something like “peaceful hills,” respectively.  The name “Israel” isn’t especially clear, but when it was given in Genesis it was accompanied by the description “you have struggled with God and man (or possibly gods and powers, the Hebrew is complicated) and have prevailed” so that name is probably a good one too.

But God has a new name planned for His people, one which He will give when the time is right.  A new name and a new identity and a new understanding of who they are.

He has a new name for me, too.  The names my parents gave me are also pretty good – my English first and middle names mean “judged pure by God,” and my Hebrew names mean “bride” and “little bird.”  My current identity and my current sense of myself are pretty good.  But God has a better name waiting.  He wants to teach me a whole new way of seeing myself, one that I only get hints of now.  His truth about me is way bigger than mine.

Application:  Seek His truth about yourself.

Prayer: Father, I praise you because you made me who I am.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and I will take it on faith that your work is marvelous.  Thank you for having new knowledge for me.  Help me to trust that you understand me better than I do.  Amen.

Isaiah 54:11-17

Scripture: from verse 14

In righteousness you shall be established…

Observation:  God is talking about the heritage of His people, which includes peace and wealth and stability and knowledge and righteousness.

This week God and I have been talking about faith some more, and some of my thoughts seemed to really click into place in a way that works for me.  The following day, I kept getting these thoughts about how the earlier revelations were stupid and not as powerful as I thought and it couldn’t be that simple and and and….  Eventually I caught it and realized that Satan was attempting to steal what I’d learned.  He’s a liar and a thief and it’s only to be expected.

I know that I can get things wrong.  I know that I can be misled by my own pride or fear or desire for life to be easy.  But God promises to establish me in righteousness.  He promises to correct me when I get it wrong.  I don’t have to let the fear of missing the mark prevent me from taking a shot in the first place.

All I have to do is keep asking for the truth.  And kick Satan out of my head, because he’s not allowed to be there.

Application:  Keep asking for the truth

Prayer:  Lord, I praise you because you are the Source of Truth.  Thank you for keeping me safe, for keeping my feet from slipping and establishing me in righteousness.  Help me to keep asking for truth.  Amen.