Isaiah 65 (HCSB)
The Lord’s Response
1 “I was sought by those who did not ask; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said: Here I am, here I am, to a nation that was not called by My name.
2 I spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in the wrong path, following their own thoughts.
3 These people continually provoke Me to My face, sacrificing in gardens, burning incense on bricks,
4 sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs, and putting polluted broth in their bowls.
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself, don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’ These practices are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
6 It is written before Me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will repay them fully
7 for your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,” says the Lord. “Because they burned incense on the mountains and reproached Me on the hills, I will reward them fully for their former deeds.”
8 The Lord says this:
As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for there’s some good in it,’ so I will act because of My servants and not destroy them all.
9 I will produce descendants from Jacob, and heirs to My mountains from Judah; My chosen ones will possess it, and My servants will dwell there.
10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie down, for My people who have sought Me.
11 But you who abandon the Lord, who forget My holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not hear; you did what was evil in My sight and chose what I did not delight in.
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:
My servants will eat, but you will be hungry; My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
14 My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart, but you will cry out from an anguished heart, and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name behind as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord God will kill you; but He will give His servants another name.
16 Whoever is blessed in the land will be blessed by the God of truth, and whoever swears in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.
A New Creation
17 “For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 Then be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people. The sound of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.
20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live only a few days, or an old man not live out his days. Indeed, the youth will die at a hundred years, and the one who misses a hundred years will be cursed.
21 People will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build and others live in them; they will not plant and others eat. For My people’s lives will be like the lifetime of a tree. My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor without success or bear children destined for disaster, for they will be a people blessed by the Lord along with their descendants.
24 Even before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on My entire holy mountain,” says the Lord.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 2): I frequently have sinful thoughts and instead of going away from them and focusing on You, I instead remain in those thoughts, Father. Please forgive me of not only these sinful thoughts, but also often living in them and following them. Help me to put up better protections in my mind, so that when those sinful thoughts do creep in I can lean on You and focus on You instead of the sinful thoughts. Help me to keep Your word and Your truths in my mind always, Father, but especially help me concentrate on them in those times I am weak and the sinful thoughts creep into my head.
PROMISE (verses 16-17): Not only do You promise us of the creation of a new heaven and earth, but You also promise us that all of the mistakes of our past are forgotten. Thank You so much for your bottomless well of grace and forgiveness, Father. I have made so many mistakes in my past and will likely continue to make some mistakes moving forward, but this promise gives me hope that I can lean on You in those times so I am not lost. Thank You for being faithful to Your promises, Father, and giving me so much more grace and forgiveness than I deserve.
ATTITUDE (verses 11-12): I feel this verse is speaking directly to me, Father. So often throughout my faith walk, I have not listened to You and have chosen to do things of my own desires instead of what You want me to do, Father. Please help me to change this selfish and self-righteous attitude, God, so that I may respond when You call to me and listen to You when You’re speaking to me. Help me to be a doer of God’s works and not of Filip’s works. Help me to open my eyes, ears, and heart to You more than I ever have since coming to faith, so that Your works and Your will become my default in this life.
COMMAND (verses 2, 12, 25): Anytime You feel the need to repeat Yourself in such a short amount of time, Father, I feel that’s You telling us something we need to be doing or not doing. In these three verses, You command us to not do evil things both in our thought life and our action life. Help me to follow this command, Father, so that I put in the past my “evil doer” ways and start to live in a “Godly doer” mentality from this point forward. Help me to keep this command close to my heart so that in those times that I do struggle, I remember that You are there for me and care enough about me to not want me to live in those evil ways of my past anymore.
EXAMPLE (verse 14): The first part of this verse has been an extremely tough example for me to follow, Father. For so long I have not allowed Your joy to fill me so that I can have a glad heart that shouts for joy. Help me to follow the example You give in this verse, Father, so that I will be filled with Your joy through all things so much that I keep a glad heart that pours out to others. Help me to live out Your example of joyful praise through all things, Father. Help me remember to always be a good and faithful servant of Yours, God.
*DAILY NOTE: Man, I have a lot of mistakes I’ve been making in my faith walk with Jesus that this Scripture convicted me of. The main thing that really creeps in often and is my toughest battle is my thought life. Please help me to combat the enemy, my flesh, my sinful nature, and the world’s influence on my thought life, Father. Help me to keep Your words, Your will, and Your truths in my thought life so I can stop living in this broken way that upsets You, Father. Help me to keep my mind focused on You through all things, so that it becomes easier and easier for me to default to Godly thoughts and have less and less of the sinful thoughts that have plagued me for so long.
*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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