Good morning!
“Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.”
In our reading today, Isaiah 49:13-23, we are reminded of God’s love and tender care for us with the image of a mother feeding her helpless infant from her own body. For those who worry that God has forgotten them in their sorrow or struggle, the prophet Isaiah says this is far from the truth!
God loves His people, the people Israel or “Zion,” as scripture calls the faithful:
“But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.”
We are closer to the Lord than the bond of mother and infant. We have become a part of His body—inscribed in His hands. His love is passionate; Zion is His bride:
“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
Your builders outdo your destroyers,
and those who laid you waste go away from you.
Lift up your eyes all around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.”
The Lord reassures us that one day those of us living in exile—far from our heavenly home-- will all live in joy and complete confidence, knowing the Lord is our God. We belong to Him! Our struggles will end.
They that wait on the Lord now will not be “put to shame”! We can rejoice in what has already happened and what is to come! The Lord has comforted His people by coming to us, becoming one of us, and taking our sins away.
We are inscribed on the palms of our Master’s hands! There can be no greater security than knowing that we can never slip from our Maker’s grasp.
Walk today in joy and confidence, knowing the Lord is our God and we belong to Him who is as gentle and nourishing to us as a nursing mother with her baby.
Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, our loving Creator, thank you for inscribing us on your palms, making us as one with You—holding us in your hands so tightly that we can never slip away. Thank you for being our God and loving us as tenderly as a nursing mother with her infant. Thank you for feeding us with Your own body and giving up Your only Son so we would have new life, reconciled with You for all eternity. Forgive us when we think that You may have forgotten or forsaken us. That is far from the truth! Reassure us of your steadfast, comforting presence in our lives. Remind us of Your provision for us spiritually, emotionally, and physically every time we see the face of a family member or friend or share a meal with our loved ones. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Karen Crawford
“Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.”
In our reading today, Isaiah 49:13-23, we are reminded of God’s love and tender care for us with the image of a mother feeding her helpless infant from her own body. For those who worry that God has forgotten them in their sorrow or struggle, the prophet Isaiah says this is far from the truth!
God loves His people, the people Israel or “Zion,” as scripture calls the faithful:
“But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.”
We are closer to the Lord than the bond of mother and infant. We have become a part of His body—inscribed in His hands. His love is passionate; Zion is His bride:
“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
Your builders outdo your destroyers,
and those who laid you waste go away from you.
Lift up your eyes all around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.”
The Lord reassures us that one day those of us living in exile—far from our heavenly home-- will all live in joy and complete confidence, knowing the Lord is our God. We belong to Him! Our struggles will end.
They that wait on the Lord now will not be “put to shame”! We can rejoice in what has already happened and what is to come! The Lord has comforted His people by coming to us, becoming one of us, and taking our sins away.
We are inscribed on the palms of our Master’s hands! There can be no greater security than knowing that we can never slip from our Maker’s grasp.
Walk today in joy and confidence, knowing the Lord is our God and we belong to Him who is as gentle and nourishing to us as a nursing mother with her baby.
Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, our loving Creator, thank you for inscribing us on your palms, making us as one with You—holding us in your hands so tightly that we can never slip away. Thank you for being our God and loving us as tenderly as a nursing mother with her infant. Thank you for feeding us with Your own body and giving up Your only Son so we would have new life, reconciled with You for all eternity. Forgive us when we think that You may have forgotten or forsaken us. That is far from the truth! Reassure us of your steadfast, comforting presence in our lives. Remind us of Your provision for us spiritually, emotionally, and physically every time we see the face of a family member or friend or share a meal with our loved ones. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Karen Crawford
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