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The reaction to the condition of your heart.

Friday, February 13, 2009

More than a Servant

Sometimes I feel as if we pursue God in our positions that He so allows us to have. Is this contradictory? Yes- of course it is. We get so caught up in what our next quest, journey, or location will be. I myself am so guilty of this, so I am speaking for myself. It might come to pass that we are so caught up in what is to come that what already is passes us by. We get so focused on our servant-hood and making sure that every step in our walk leads to what the Lord's path or will is for our future. Not to say this is necessarily bad, but it causes us to focus on what already isn't yet and not what already is or has been laid before us. The Lord promises salvation for the captives, He promises healing for the broken-hearted, He promises blessings for the poor-in spirit, He promises to make our paths straight and to lead us with triumph and victory. Who are we to even think about the future, to even plan upon the future? Why do I focus so much on what is to come? Our Father is so faithful and loving at keeping His precious promises from His Word. Who am I to put limitations on the future? As we plan for the future, we put limitations on the Lord's power, limitations on His purpose for His Glory. He has promised to make us a restorer, to bring back the lost and set the captives free, to be a light to the Gentiles, and He has said that we will bring salvation to the ends of the earth. So why are we in a hurry for what is to come? Why don't we just stand and gaze into the time and place of now? Why don't we be that 'sharpened sword' or 'polished arrow' that He has made us to be? We are meant to be this person at this time and this place, not just for ourselves but for others around us. I am meant to be this person in Isaiah 49 not just for myself, but for you and for who ever the Lord places in my presence. This is who I am now, not who I will be- for that is already promised by GOD.Isaiah "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." Isaiah 49:6

Isaiah 49
The Servant of the LORD 1 Listen to me, you islands;

hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the LORD called me;
from my birth he has made mention of my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,

in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, "You are my servant,

Israel, in whom I will display my splendor."
4 But I said,
"I have labored to no purpose;
I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.
Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand,
and my reward is with my God."
5 And now the LORD says—

he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD
and my God has been my strength-
6 he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
7 This is what the LORD says—

the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
"Kings will see you and rise up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

Restoration of Israel

8 This is what the LORD says:
"In the time of my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, 'Come out,'

and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'
"They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,

nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,

and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—

some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Aswan. [a] "
13 Shout for joy, O heavens;

rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the LORD comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,

the Lord has forgotten me."
15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are ever before me.
17 Your sons hasten back,

and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;

all your sons gather and come to you.
As surely as I live," declares the LORD,
"you will wear them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 "Though you were ruined and made desolate

and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement

will yet say in your hearing,
'This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.'
21 Then you will say in your heart,

'Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.
Who brought these up?
I was left all alone,
but these—where have they come from?' "
22 This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

"See, I will beckon to the Gentiles,
I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
they will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the LORD;
those who hope in me will not be disappointed."
24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,

or captives rescued from the fierce [b] ?
25 But this is what the LORD says:

"Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
and your children I will save.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.
Then all mankind will know
that I, the LORD, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

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