Isaiah 26

I've been reading through Isaiah, a chapter each day. Normally I write down a few points from each chapter. But in Isaiah 26, there was just so much goodness, that it ended up way too long to whatsapp to my accountability group. So instead, here it is :) 

v1 "We have a strong city;"

- I like this. Such a simple statement, but it's powerful. We have security. We have protection. We have a refuge to hide in. We have a safe home that we should be inviting other people into. Are we living in the strong city or are we doing our own thing in the wilderness?

v2 "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter,"

- The gates were not made to be closed and to keep people out. As Elsa did in Frozen, let's declare that the gates are open forever for all to be welcomed in. Let's be inviting people into our world that they may find Jesus and his righteousness and grace and salvation. 

v3 "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

- Perfect peace. Nothing missing, nothing broken. Peace beyond our understanding and control and logic and circumstances. This peace comes only because we trust in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. I know that sometimes having a mind that is steadfast seems impossible in this world we face. But our minds can be steadfast, not because of ourselves, but because of where our trust is placed, because we know the One in whom we trust (2 Tim 1:12)

v4 "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."

- As Isaiah often says, it's the Lord himself. The Lord himself is our refuge, our salvation, our Rock eternal. Not a religion, not some ideas, not some tick boxes that we build our lives on. It's the Lord himself. 

v7 "The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth."

- To be honest though, sometimes it feels more like a rollercoaster. But the life we live is a life of faith, and we have to trust that even in the storms and rocky paths, God is still in control and he is making a way. 

v9 "My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you."

- More honesty: I often don't feel this. Often my yearning and longings are for other things—for comfort, for riches, for recognition, for achieving, for being liked. I want to get better at this; aligning myself more and more to Jesus. Like Jack Sparrow's compass that always points to the thing he desires the most, I want my heart to always point to Jesus. 

v12 "Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us."

- So important to remember that ALL is from God—peace, accomplishments, gifts, success, hope, meaning, purpose, everything. Helps to keep us humble. 

v13 "Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor."

- So many things try to lord over us: culture, our feelings, our insecurities, fear of man, our bosses, our busyness. But there is only One that is worthy and able to rule over us in righteousness and justice.

v16 "Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer."

- I don't think I have ever been in a situation where I have felt this desperate—but I know that way too many people have been. And I love that we can still come to Jesus in our distress. Even when we can barely whisper a prayer, He hears us and is moved with compassion. His heart is for us. And as it says in Isaiah 42: A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

v18 "We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life."

- We can't save people. It's all Jesus and it's him alone. We are called to love people and show them the salvation that is on offer for them; but we can't bring the dead back to life. I find that freeing, it takes the pressure off of me and puts it rightfully on the infinitely large and capable shoulders of Jesus. As one of my favourite Narnia quotes says: "It is Aslan, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus." It's Jesus, not me, that will save my friends and family and colleagues and even enemies. It's all him. As the next verse says:

v19 "But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise"
- In the Lord, the dead will live again. In Christ alone. 

Excellence

During my gap year at church our leader always reminded us to do things with excellence. Now, almost 10 years later, my fellow yoylies and still I like to say, "excellenncceee" to one another when performing any task at church.

I stopped to think about it the other day though and wondered how often I fall short of that standard of excellence in the things I do. Why do I settle for less than my best? Why do I do the easy thing rather than the right thing with a good attitude?

Ever found yourself in this boat? Making excuses for doing less than your best? Or doing what is asked of you, but with a sour attitude and a poor effort? Unfortunately, sometimes I am the captain of this sinking boat.

But like Paul talks about in Romans 7, this is not how I want to be. I don't want to be that guy! This isn’t how it should be. In everything, I know I am called to be an imitator and ambassador of Jesus. The Bible speaks about this a lot:

Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;” 
1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Titus 2:7 "In everything set them an example by doing what is good."

Somehow I don't think that poor efforts and half-hearted living go well with setting a good example and imitating and glorifying our God. He is not about that halfway life. So I don't want to settle for that either.

No, I don't have to be the best at everything. I never will be. But I do want to give of my best in everything I do. From the big moments and life changing decisions I make, to the small, seemingly insignificant times of eating and drinking and washing the dishes, I want to choose to do it with the excellence of my God.

Something I have found to be helpful in trying to pursue excellence is accountability. Talking about the areas of laziness and half-heartedness in my life and asking an accountability buddy to challenge me when they see me slacking, has gone a long way in helping me up my excellence game. Not because I feel the need to strive or achieve to be loved or accepted, but because I want to live well in a way that speaks Jesus to those around me.

It's also vital, in this pursuit of excellence to show myself grace. Despite my hopes (and pride), I am never always going to do everything right the first time (or maybe even the second or seventeenth time over). In my flawed, broken, sinful body and mind, absolute excellence isn't an option. And that is not what I'm called to. Failure will happen. Below average results will happen.

But because my God calls me to persevere, I will try, try again. I will pursue excellence for the glory of God and to set a good example to those in my life. And above all, I will pursue Jesus, the ultimate picture and embodiment of excellence.

The Arms of the Almighty

Psalm 61:2-3

“From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,

for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.”

Even the biggest and bravest and strongest reach a point where they just can't. A moment when they have to stop and surrender, recognising their need of a rescuer.  I think every person will sit in that place at at least once in their lives, facing the need for something or someone who is big enough and strong to handle the life that seems to endlessly slip through their fingers. There is no human who can sustain themselves, no creature who can possess one ounce of life apart from the sovereign, sustaining grace of God.  

And boy, do I often feel that. As the Psalmist grasped so well—my heart is faint, and I am small. But Christ, my solid rock, He isn’t. He is great and mighty, powerful and eternal. 

So I don’t have to be big. I don’t have to be strong. I don’t have to have it all together, because Jesus does.

The world I face is scary and big, but God is the world’s architect and maker. He is bigger, he is stronger, and he is able—able to hold this faint heart. From day one, he has been my refuge and sustenance, and I know he will continue to strengthen me until I see him face to face.

The Psalm continues in verse 4: “Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!”

Yes, I am weak and small, but I am not alone.  

I am safe in the presence and the arms of my Saviour. Even in the midst of an enormous world filled with countless people, I know his Spirit is with me personally (John 14), because I belong to the God who is greater, who has overcome the world (1 John 4:4).

At the end of the day, I’m happy to be a little person in the arms of the big and mighty God.

Your Wildest Dreams

“No one to tell us ‘no’ or where to go or say we're only dreaming.”

Our God is the God of the impossible: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt 19:26)

The words God has spoken over you and the things He has promised in your life will neither fail nor come up empty: "For no word from God will ever fail." (Luke 1:37)

Our God is at work in ways that we will never know, doing things we could never think of, going beyond all we could dream of. He is good and powerful and loving beyond our wildest dreams:"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.." (Eph 3:20)

In light of these truths: 

Don’t let the world, or doubt, or hopelessness, or disappointment dim the dreams, the unspoken desires that God has put in your heart. 

Don’t let people talk you down from chasing the things, the mission God has for you. 

Don't let tiredness or failure cause you to let go of the hope that you have in Jesus. 

Don’t listen to the words that try and shape you and make you into anything less that what our Father has for you.

No one— not you, not your enemies, not the devil— can say no to the plans and dreams and the hand of God in your life. He's bigger and beyond even your wildest dreams. 

 

Soaring, Tumbling, Freewheeling

“I can open your eyes, take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under on a magic carpet ride...
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky”

Life ain't simple. There are good days and bad days. Hopes crushed and dreams fulfilled (Prov 13:12). Friends made and friends lost. Plans made and plans unraveled. It's pretty complicated at best.

Sometimes even, life feels like a straight up washing machine, a big wave that keeps taking you out – like you’re tumbling round and round, not making progress and semi drowning – i.e. not a fun time.

This does not mean Jesus has bailed on you. He is still there in the washing machine; He is there through the storm. Sometimes it's just that over, sideways and under is part of his journey for you. In Matt 14:22 Jesus sends his disciples in a boat across the lake, full well knowing that they would be facing a storm on the way. The rough time was not outside of God's sovereign and perfect will for their lives.

So the question I ask myself today is: what am I going to do with the hard, topsy-turvy moments of my life? Am I going to let them sandpaper me more and more into God’s shape? Or am I going to drop my lip and hop off the carpet, thinking my way is better and easier? Will I choose to learn from my mistakes or will I shrug my shoulders to the correction and conviction and keep on making the same mistakes? Will I push into Jesus in the adversity, or will I push him away? Will I hold on tight through the rough patches, through the motion sickness and nausea, knowing that God’s beautiful will for my life will prevail (Jere 29:11, Prov 19:21), that he will complete what He has started in me (Phil 1:6), and that he is always in control (Romans 8:28)? 

Sometimes we will soar and sometimes we will tumble. Keep going. Keep fighting the good fight. Keep running with perseverance the race marked out for you. Sometimes you will freewheel and life will be effortless. Other times it will feel like you have to push through miles of chin deep mud. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive his promises (Heb 10:36). Fix your eyes on Jesus and push through.

The endless diamond sky of eternity with Jesus will be so absolutely worth it!

I Can't Go Back

“I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be”

Redemption and sanctification – what beautiful things! Things of moving forward, of advancing, of transformation to become more like Jesus.

Remember where you have come from, but don't go back there. Use your rearview mirror as a point of reference, but look forward to the new things God has for you. Don’t give even an inch of the ground taken back to the devil. Don’t give him a foothold in any shape or form (Eph 4:27).

I pray that the kingdom of heaven would continue to advance in us every day. Would we fight for our freedom and our purity. May we never back down!

I saw a quote where Khaleesi says: "I will not let those I have freed slip back into chains." How much more is that the heart of our God? Galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Jesus gave his precious life that we may be free -- let's live in that spacious place and not go back to where we used to be.

Don't Let Your Heart Decide

“Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?”

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

Don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want my life decided by something that is deceitful and desperately sick.

Our feelings are real, but they are also fickle. Some lyrics from the song Easy by Sarah Reeves come to mind: "Just because I'm feeling weak and feeling lonely doesn't make it true." Our hearts and our feelings endlessly mislead us and tell us things that aren't true. Our feelings tell us we are unloved, that we aren't good enough, that our satisfaction will be found in a new boy or toy or the most liked Instagram post. But that does not make it true.

And if having a deceitful heart isn't enough, in Proverbs 19:21 it says that many are the plans in a person's heart. So basically our hearts consist of many deceitful plans. Awesome.

But the Proverb doesn't end there. It carries on to say that it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. BUT THE LORD prevails. And the Lord is good. He has no deceit in him. His heart is fully for us and his plans are beautiful and exciting and good.

So instead of letting your feelings and your heart decide, let Jesus decide for you. Not in a creepy puppet/mindless zombie way, but in a beautiful, trusting of the Master Builder Architect Artist Creator of your life. He knows you perfectly, he sees your path perfectly, he loves you perfectly and he knows the end perfectly. I’d say he’s pretty darn qualified to make calls in your life.

Feelings are fickle and they will lead us astray. Instead, let us fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). Let us trust in the Lord with all our hearts and he will lead us in making the best decisions that will make our paths straight (Prov 3:5-6).