What comes to mind when someone asks, "How are you today?" Do I think about how I feel? What things I've been doing? How my family life is? Or even what I really need, desire, or wish for? Often, my response is a quick "Oh, fine!" But when I sit down and really think about life, and what could be different IF ONLY? One day, life as we know it WILL be different. We won't experience sadness, illness, or loss. We won't get tired, and we won't have pain. Check out these amazing verses!
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
He will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
He will come to save you."
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35
Oh, the promises of God! How sweet and precious they are! One day, things we are experiencing will be different...and my favorite part, no more sighing! The-sit-down-in-the-chair, exhausted...at the end of my rope with circumstances, sighing...will be NO MORE!
My Bible commentary refers to this chapter in Isaiah as...
Isaiah 35 was the backdrop of Beth Moore's Living Proof Live event I recently attended. She took the verses specifically talking about "the lame being able to leap like a deer," and she compared in study those verses with three different instances in the book of Acts. (Acts 3:1-10; Acts 14:8-18; and Acts 9:32-35) In these three instances, lame men were healed. Can you imagine?! Not being able to walk and suddenly, you are healed?! Incredible!"a beautiful picture of the final kingdom in which God will establish His justice and destroy all evil...it pictures the days when life will be peaceful at last and everything will be made right. Carmel and Sharon were regions of thick vegetation and fertile soil. They were symbols of productivity and plenty."
With that in mind, Beth gave 8 Healing Statements to apply to our lives:
1. We are all begging for something. (The lame man in Acts 3 was begging for silver or gold...what am I begging for?)
2. Sometimes we beg for the lesser thing we need. (He called out "alms, alms, alms..." when he should have been calling out "legs, legs, legs...")
3. Sometimes what we need from a person is just a hand. (Peter gave him a hand to get up and his ankles and feet were instantly made strong. Instead of trying to fix others, I often just need to give them a hand.)
4. Nothing will make us as lame as trying to make gods of people. (People are just people...not gods or demons. We were not made to handle worship...only God can.)
5. To experience the true magnitude of our healing, we have to stop clinging and start walking. (Those people who have given us "a hand" were not meant to be clung to...we have to walk on our own.")
6. Those who have learned to walk are also called to talk. (We should be willing to share what amazing things God has done for us.)
7. We can't force healing on people. (Only God can change the hearts of people...the harder we try to point someone in the right direction, sometimes, the farther they run away from God's love for them.)
8. God can use our healing to make others want theirs. (When we are willing to share what God has done in our lives, we often see other people wanting that in their lives as well.)
Each of those statements spoke volumes to me. So true...so true! So many things to remember as I walk this walk...and live life. Do you ever hear something that resounds with what you are currently walking through in life? That's exactly how I felt...drinking in all of the encouragement from God's Word that she shared.
In Acts 3:6, Peter looked into the eyes of the lame beggar at the gate and told him, "I have no gold or silver (what the man was asking for), but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." What am I asking/begging for that is really NOT the thing I need, when instead, what I need is healing...one way to look at this verse. Also, I might not have such and such abilities, but what I do have, I give to God to use. (Another way to look at this verse...) She also gave us some homework to do after the Friday evening session...to fill out these blanks...(in reference to the above verse in Acts).
I have no ___________________________.
But what I have is _________________________.
What do I THINK I need, but really God has already given me WHAT I need to get through the situation, day, week, or year? Sometimes, it's just so easy to see what I don't have instead of what God HAS given...and even that I need to be willing to lay before His feet.
Lots to think about...lots to pray about...and lots to turn over to Him...the One Who can give me just what I need.
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Lord,
You use so many different
things, people, and
life events to teach me.
Thank you for the time to
sit and drink in
Your truth.
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