Isaiah 35
Have you ever watched a movie about the struggle between good and evil that ended up with evil defeating good? I know I have. Unfortunately, I can’t think of a good example right off the top of my head, but I know that more than once in recent years, I have come to the end of a movie with a knot in my stomach because the story didn’t end well. What does Hollywood have against happy endings?
Isaiah 32
I thought the ending of this chapter was absolutely beautiful: “The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be.” (vs 16-20)
Isaiah 27
The title of today’s blog post seemed like a no-brainer. After all, how many Bible passages are (1) spoken directly by God, and (2) spoken so clearly? “On that day sing about a desirable vineyard: I, Yahweh, watch over it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day so that no one disturbs it. I am not angry, but if it produces thorns and briers for Me, I will fight against it, trample it, and burn it to the ground. Or let it take hold of My strength; let it make peace with Me—make peace with Me.” (vs 2-5)
Isaiah 26
There are times in our lives when circumstances cause us to step back and realize just how fleeting life is and just how little control we have over the things that happen to us. This isn’t a reality we often face; most of us go merrily through the day, living out the plans we have made for ourselves, gleefully unaware that it could all come crashing down around us in a moment (although somewhere, in the back of our minds, we know it’s true).
Isaiah 24
If this wasn’t such serious business, there could be something almost comical about the way these doom and gloom prophecies keep escalating. First, it was doom prophesied on the average nations, then the bigger and stronger nations, and now… the whole world: “Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!” (vs 1-3)
Isaiah 13
If there’s one thing I had to become quickly accustomed to as a new parent, it was driving around in the car with my daughter strapped into her car seat behind me—facing backwards. Since I was often driving with no other adults in the car, I wasn’t crazy about the requirement of a rear-facing seat for babies since it meant I wouldn’t be able to see Caroline at all while I was behind the wheel. A thousand wild ideas of what could “happen” to her while I couldn’t see her used to go through my head. So, before I could drive myself crazy, my husband bought a mirror that attached to the seat she was facing so at least I could see her reflection. Problem solved.
Isaiah 2
War and peace. No, not the book title; the two things people are constantly headed toward. Either we are moving toward war or we are moving toward peace. Sometimes, in this sinful world, it’s difficult to know when (or if) war is appropriate. Some people believe it is never needed; others believe certain situations warrant it. Certainly, the Bible presents situations in which God allowed or sent His people to war.
Song of Solomon 4
When I lived in England, one of my favorite places to visit was Sylvia’s Garden—an out-of-the-way place with old stone benches, blooming flowers and bushes, a man-made pool, and lots of serenity. There was not a more peaceful, calming place in all the world. I went there a lot to think and pray.
Proverbs 17
Especially in America, we spend much of our lives in the pursuit of getting. We work at getting an education, getting a job, getting job security, getting a house, getting a car, getting love, getting a retirement plan—getting, getting, getting. And in Proverbs, I believe Solomon’s main point is, In all your getting, get wisdom. In all your getting, get the things that are important. In all your getting, don’t pass over the permanent for the perishable.
Proverbs 12
One of my favorite television programs to watch is Judge Judy. Judge Sheindlin is a no-nonsense judge who doesn’t hold back what she’s thinking from the litigants who come into her courtroom. And one of the things she says often (especially to people who have lied or are trying to lie to her!) is, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to have a good memory.”
Psalm 122
I think it has to be one of the most universal things we believe about God—that He is a peacelover. At least, I don’t know many people who would race to characterize God as a warmonger. (Maybe you do!) Yet one of my favorite Jesus quotes is this one from Matthew 10:34—”Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Psalm 112
Here is one of the paradoxes of the Christian life: When we fear God, we won’t be afraid of anything. When we don’t fear God, we will be afraid of everything. Of course, as mentioned in yesterday’s blog, “fearing” God doesn’t have anything to do with being terrified of Him. It means to respect Him, to stand in awe of Him, to understand that He is over all and above all.
Psalm 57
David faced a lot of hardship in his life. This very psalm, for instance, was written in a cave while he was literally hiding for his life. However, David doesn’t sound very worried.
Sure, he mentions his troubles he’s facing: “I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” (vs 4) Have you ever been standing in the middle of lions? I haven’t, and I sure wouldn’t want to! It would be nothing short of certain death.
Psalm 47
In this psalm, David says, “He chooses our inheritance for us.” (vs 4) When I read this, I remembered how, after the birth of our first child, my husband and I suddenly realized we didn’t have a will and that we needed to get one put together. Of course, we wanted to make sure that if something happened to us and we weren’t around, our children would be taken care of (without too much red tape!).
Psalm 46
This psalm contains one of my favorite texts in the Bible: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (vs 10) This, after a vivid picture of utter chaos: “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (vs 2-3)
Psalm 29
It seems like I’ve been writing a lot about “the end of the world” on this blog lately. Maybe it’s because everything that’s happening in the news right now seems so crazy. Earthquakes, wildfires, plagues of locusts, a burgeoning pandemic. A lot of things seem to be in upheaval. Where’s it all headed?
Psalm 5
A friend of mine recently posted a video on Facebook about the potential collapse of the American economic system (and, presumably, the eventual collapse of the global economic system as well). The video talked about how, once the dollar collapses, food and energy prices will skyrocket—leading to starvation, desperation, riots, looting, and violence. The creator of the video hypothesized that, at that point, martial law will be attempted but will fail, as the soldiers will realize that they need to protect their own families from the growing masses of angry, out-of-control people.
Psalm 3
I can’t imagine writing a song when I was running away from my child. That’s what this is—a psalm David wrote as he was fleeing from his son. Absalom was trying to kill him so he could take over the kingdom. Apparently, however, even while he was on the run, David wasn’t losing sleep: “I can lie down and go to sleep, and I will wake up again, because the Lord gives me strength. Thousands of troops may surround me, but I am not afraid.” (vs 5-6)
Job 37
It’s interesting, isn’t it, that Elihu spends the last part of chapter 36 and all of this chapter describing a storm. I think he must have been describing an actual storm that was approaching, because in the very next chapter, God speaks to Job out of the storm. In my mind, I could just imagine this grand, glorious storm sweeping across the plain, becoming the backdrop for the next part of Elihu’s speech—the terrible majesty of God. I bet Elihu never expected God to be in the storm.
