Joy of the Redeemed
Request: Lord, open my eyes as I read your word, my ears to hear, my mind to understand, and my heart to be filled with your love. Amen.
Read Isaiah 35
Record your favorite verse and comment if you want to share.
Respond with a prayer to God.
In the previous chapters leading up to chapter 35, Isaiah’s messages to the people of Judah, Israel, and surrounding pagan nations were to repent and renew their relationship with God. The verses in today’s reading gave the people in the time of Isaiah and all of us today a glimpse of what is to come – the kingdom we will live in with God—a kingdom where all evil will be destroyed. Jesus will return as he promised. He will return with a vengeance against evil. It sounds frightening, doesn’t it? But we know that our faith, love, and trust in God will save us on that day of judgment. In these verses, we are given a vision of the joy we will experience – bodies that are made whole again, and nature will be released from the curse of the Fall that we read about in Genesis 3 in the first week of our study (vs. 17-19).
We need to have the courage of Isaiah and encourage the lost and weak in faith to trust in God so that they, too, will experience the joy of Jesus’ return. Let us all walk alongside those in need of knowing and loving God.
My verse: Isaiah 35:9-10, “No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued 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.”
God is preparing the way for us and will walk with us in every step we take. He will always be with us so that we will experience the joy of everlasting life with him.
My response: Lord, thank you for rescuing me and for always being with me. I know that without you, life in this world would be impossible. I ask for the courage and strength to bring others along with me on my journey in this life so that they, too, will experience the way to everlasting life. Amen.
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My verse: Isaiah 35:6b-7a “ … Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land … “
My response: Lord Jesus, Living Water, when we walk away from You, we become parched, barren land, unable to bear fruit or to thrive with joy. When we return (or You, like the Shepherd in Luke 15 come and get our crippled selves), You water our dried up souls, drenching us with Your grace, love, and forgiveness. You satisfy our thirst! You alone.