Isaiah 62 (HCSB)
Zion’s Restoration
1 I will not keep silent because of Zion, and I will not keep still because of Jerusalem, until her righteousness shines like a bright light and her salvation, like a flaming torch.
2 Nations will see your righteousness and all kings, your glory. You will be called by a new name that the Lord’s mouth will announce.
3 You will be a glorious crown in the Lord’s hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
4 You will no longer be called Deserted, and your land will not be called Desolate; instead, you will be called My Delight is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land will be married.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a groom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
6 Jerusalem,
I have appointed watchmen on your walls; they will never be silent, day or night. There is no rest for you, who remind the Lord.
7 Do not give Him rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn with His right hand and His strong arm:
I will no longer give your grain to your enemies for food, and foreigners will not drink your new wine you have labored for.
9 For those who gather grain will eat it and praise the Lord, and those who harvest the grapes will drink the wine in My holy courts.
10 Go out, go out through the gates; prepare a way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones! Raise a banner for the peoples.
11 Look, the Lord has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion:
Look, your salvation is coming, His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him.”
12 And they will be called the Holy People, the Lord’s Redeemed; and you will be called Cared For, A City Not Deserted.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 4-5): For most of my faith walk with You, Father, I have treated our relationship as one of convenience. One that I go to every now and then, but not fully committed to our relationship. In these verses You say that our relationship should be treated like a marriage, where we are Your bride and You rejoice over us. I’ve failed in many ways in my earthly marriage, let alone in my Spiritual marriage to You, God. Please forgive me for failing often in my relationship with You, Father. Help me to truly embrace You as my #1 spouse in all things, so that I may glorify You and my relationship with You.
PROMISE (verse 11): You proclaim in this verse, Father, that we have salvation through You and that great rewards accompany those who believe in and follow You. Thank You so much for this promise, Father. We are undeserving of any of these promises, yet You remain faithful and showing us Your never-ceasing grace. The way I’ve lived, I wouldn’t even come close to being worthy of any types of rewards or eternal salvation, yet You promise us that it is given by You to me, so I thank You so much for that undeserved blessing, Father.
ATTITUDE (verse 5): Help me to change my attitude to one that always rejoices in You, Father, just as You rejoice over me. Help me to have an attitude to focuses on You and Your glory through all things instead of the pain and sorrow that this world and my failures may bring. Help my attitude align with Yours in our relationship so that I can be joyful and rejoicing over You as my spouse in our relationship, Father. You are my spouse and I am Yours; I need to learn to treat You better than I have been and take pride in our relationship.
COMMAND (verse 10): You give us a pretty blatant command here, Father. You tell us that we are to go out and prepare a way for Your people. That we are to be Your helpers in building up the path for them to come to You. I have failed at this my whole journey with You, Father. You charge us with sharing Your word, being good stewards, disciple makers, and simply to be open and honest about our faith and about You. Over the years since I accepted You as my Lord and Savior, I have failed at living an accepting and consistent life with You on my own and for myself, let alone sharing that relationship and Your word with the world. Please help me to be better at embracing this command, Father, so that through me Your kingdom will expand and Your people will have a “highway” that is cleared of all obstacles so that they may come to You and all Your glory.
EXAMPLE (verses 1-2, 4-5, 7, 10, 12): All these verses combined are kind of showing me an example of how I am to live my life in this faith walk with You, Jesus. I am to proclaim Your righteousness, never allowing myself to be silent about You. I am to live my relationship with You as my spouse and I as Your bride, glorifying You in all I do and rejoicing over You throughout this life. I am not to rest on Your will and Your way until You are the praise of the entire earth. I am to go out into this world and build a pathway for others to seek You, to help others with clearing the obstacles that may prevent the expansion of Your kingdom. I am to live in a way that Your people will rejoice in You, be redeemed through You, cared by You, and be called Your Holy People! Help me to live in this way, Father, so that Your kingdom can be expanded using me as a vessel for that expansion. Please help me become more comfortable and knowledgeable in my faith and Your will for me, so that I do allow You to use me as that vessel and am comfortable in that action.
*DAILY NOTE: I struggle so much with relationships in general, Father. For so long, when things get good I tend to drive those close to me away. When there’s one little hiccup in a relationship, I tend to drive those close to me away. I fail at proper and effective communications in all of my relationships, Father, including with You. Help me to be better at the relationships that matter, Father—my relationship with You first and foremost, but also my relationship with my wife and kids. Help me to be a better follower of You and servant leader of my household. Help me to know what words to speak in the moment to avoid all the horrible ways I’ve spoken to everyone around me, Father. Help me to speak to You more frequently and more clearly so that I may express myself in a more safe and peaceful manner.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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