DATE POSTED: Friday, February 2, 2024, and I was blessed to be at Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE Good News Translation (GNT) IS FOUND IN Isaiah 30:18-23
THE BIBLE TEXT IS: And yet the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you. He is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
You people who live in Jerusalem will not weep any more. The Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you. The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more. If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, “Here is the road. Follow it.”
Whenever you plant your crops, the Lord will send rain to make them grow and will give you a rich harvest, and your livestock will have plenty of pasture.
APPLICATION OF THE WORD: To get the full impact of these verses today, you will want to click on my Scripture reference and read the whole chapter of Isaiah 30. In fact, you may also wonder if Isaiah may have been blessed with this prophecy because of everything that has happened in your life! Israel had turned to Egypt for help instead of turning to the God of this universe – very much like we tend to do when we moan, complain, and turn to various government programs or other resources when we feel like we have reached the end of our supply chain, friends list, protection or hope. God disciplined Israel pretty severely through heartaches, trials, lost battles, and just plain hopelessness. He wanted them to see what life would be like if they got their wish to truly exclude Him from their lives. Not sure about you dear friends, but there seems to be times in my life also when so many unexpected things are occurring that I am made to wonder if my life is properly aligned and obedient in every way with my Master – Jesus Christ. But then comes verse 19 above where we are reminded that we serve a compassionate God. For me, this breaks down to Him being loving, caring, and always having our best interest at heart, even when He has to discipline us. However, although this is what we derive from our understanding of God, what do we learn about ourselves in this Scripture today? Unfortunately, it becomes very evident that we are spoiled worse than the most undisciplined child we can think of. In spite of us not doing our part, we first blame God for not caring about our situation, or denouncing all those that God may have placed in our path to love and care for us, or complaining about our lack of perfect health, finances, material goods, opportunities, and prospects for our future. Oh that we would be reminded today that God is still love; that He created us in His image; that He sacrificed His very own Son so that we might be forgiven of our sin and allowed to join Him in heaven one day; that His love for us is far greater than anything our human minds could comprehend; and that He has a future in mind for us just as He had for the Israelites, if only we would turn from our wicked ways and acknowledge Him as Lord and everlasting Savior. Yes, my friend, we serve a compassionate God. Do you know Him intimately? Have you given Him lordship of your life? I really want to see you in heaven one day, so please allow me to encourage you to sure up your relationship with the only One who can make this possible, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Thank You Lord for loving me, even when I may appear unlovable to others around me. Thank You for providing the means for my future in heaven to be assured. Please Lord, continue to impress upon the hearts of my readers, listeners, and myself that we have a strong hope and a very bright future. Soften hearts so that we might take our eyes off self long enough to see a loving, compassionate and caring Savior who truly wants us in His presence one day when life here on earth is complete. Please give us opportunity to share this love with others today so that they may also be reminded of Your compassion and grace causing them to develop a growing desire to find and accept You as Lord. AMEN!
FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. For my podcast, go online to Apple Podcasts or, using the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word to hear more episodes, or click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home nearby your home and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!