A greater restoration!
Isaiah has written extensively about God's correction and judgment. But he doesn't end there. He concludes from chapter 34 with a picture of the Lord's restoration in chapter 35.
"The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert." Isaiah 35:1-2, 5-6
I'm thankful for the moments of God's correction in my own life. Without them, I wouldn't have experienced so much of the restoration Isaiah describes.
His discipline is never meant to destroy us, its always been meant to redeem us.
God's heart is not destruction but restoration. That's His desire for you and for me. Left to ourselves, we eventually make a mess of the very things we've been entrusted with. We wander, we pursue lesser things, and we reap the consequences. But God, in His mercy, steps in to restore us.
Do you truly know the heart of God? Not just in your mind, but deep enough that it shapes the way you live?
When we understand His heart, it changes everything. We begin to welcome His correction instead of resisting it. We trust His righteousness instead of questioning it. We extend His grace to others because we've experienced it ourselves. His justice and holiness are the very pathway to an abundant life.
Today, let's live in such a way that people around us see that we've encountered the restoring heart of God. And let's faithfully point others to the One who makes deserts bloom.
-To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.