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Reflect
So often, we can be so hard-headed and stubborn. We want things our way and we want to do them how we choose. Yet just as often we find that our way may not have been the best way – sometimes finding that we’ve worked our way into precarious, but easily avoidable situations.
In Isaiah 48, we find the Israelites in a similar situation. Having failed to be obedient and follow the Lord’s commands time and time again throughout the Old Testament, they find themselves now in captivity at the hands of the Babylonians. However, though their plight looks bleak, the prophet Isaiah has come to remind them of who they are, that God has not forgotten them, and best yet, that God has a plan to use the situation for his glory and their benefit.
For example, after first recapping why and how they got into this situation (vv 1-4), Isaiah goes on to assure them that God has had a plan for them all along (vv 5-8). Furthermore, he goes on to explain that because God knew his people, what they would do and how they would rebel against him, he had a plan all along to use their predicament to continue to refine and shape them into the very people whom he had set apart for himself back in Genesis (v 9-11, compare Exodus 15:25, Deuteronomy 7:6).
This is similarly good news for each of us today. To know that God knows us so intimately that he took the time to plan accordingly, to allow for our own quirks and temperaments, is super encouraging! Though we may still find ourselves dealing with the consequences of our own actions, we can remain assured in our trials that God is continuing to use them to refine us into the chosen people that we are.
Respond
Heavenly Father, I thank you for knowing me. I thank you for not leaving me. I pray today, God, that no matter what situation I find myself in, you will continue to use my circumstances to refine me so that I might look and love more like you. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Arthur Satterwhite III
Arthur L. Satterwhite III serves as the National Movements Ministry Mobilizer at American Bible Society where he currently oversees the organization’s work with Protestant denominations, para-Church ministries, and Christian events and conferences. In this role, Arthur leads ABS’ efforts to serve, equip and collaborate with Christian leaders in order to positively shift individuals’ perception of the Bible and drive their constituencies toward active Bible engagement.