Thursday, June 29, 2017

Isaiah 58:8-10 -- On Answers from God and Brightening our Darkness

"Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:"
Isaiah 58:8-10


These verses (and a lot of the chapter) are talking about doing good to others, and how the Lord rewards people who are sincerely good to others.

Light, health, righteousness, God watching our backs... this all sounds amazing, doesn't it?  I think the next part teaches us something about prayer as well.  It says that if we do these things, then if we call or cry, the Lord will answer, and comfort us.  That's a super important principle, because it can sometimes feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling.  One thing that can help us get through is sincerely helping others who are hungry or otherwise afflicted.  If we help his children, then God is way more willing to listen to and help us in return... not because he suddenly likes us more, but because of the whole law of restoration thing that we have read about before.  Whatever we give to others, and whatever choices we make in life, those are the same things that we will get back.

I really like the part about our lights rising in obscurity and our darkness being as the noonday.  We all have darkness in our lives sometimes, but if noon is as dark as it gets... wow.  That would be amazing.  Something to work for.

Today, let's draw out our souls and share with others.  Let's help the hungry and the afflicted.  By helping others, we brighten ourselves.  Let's remember that as we give to others, God will give to us, and let's continue to learn to love and give more and more as we learn to be Zion people.

3 comments:

  1. Sure sister!yu just keep on and give us "more and more"of yo commentary I love them.
    As yu may know that the love of God is conditional.The blessings are on yo side.Amen 😊👍💟lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Blessings are conditional. I don't think his love is... he loves us no matter what, but just like any other parent, he has to do what is best for us and teach us the right way, so blessings are attached to good decisions, so he doesn't encourage the wrong things.

      Delete
  2. Amen. God's love is unconditional.. No matter of who you are or what you are.. God is God.. His love never change...

    ReplyDelete