The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Thursday
July 17, 2008
"O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you on a
foundation of sapphires and make the walls of your houses from precious
jewels. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies and your gates and
walls of shining gems. I will teach all your citizens, and their prosperity
will be great. You will live under a government that is just and fair. Your
enemies will stay far away; you will live in peace. Terror will not come
near. If any nation comes to fight you, it will not be because I sent them
to punish you. Your enemies will always be defeated because I am on your side."
Isaiah 54:11-17
Whether you realize it or not, you are a city to God. When He looks at you, He doesn't just see just you; He sees the army that surrounds you and you are one with them. There are no Lone Rangers or Zorro's in the Kingdom. We are jewels in His crown.
The words of one of my favorite choruses are:
"Lord, you are more
precious that silver.
Lord, you are more costly than gold.
Lord, you are
more beautiful than diamonds.
Nothing I desire compares to you."
That is what we feel toward him, but do you realize that is exactly what
He feels towards us too?
Years ago I heard a preacher describe us as "diamonds in the rough." In my infancy as a child of God I understood it from a child's perspective. Now, with a little more maturity in Him, I see it as a profound truth. He uses the problems in our lives to chisel away all that black stuff in us so the true gem can shine and be all that it was intended to be. Yet, if we do not yield to the Master's touch the very thing that was designed to make us more beautiful can actually destroy us.
God wants us to know that we are precious to Him. When we stand on His side of the river, He protects us and He wants us to know that there is no weapon – no trial, no circumstance, no sickness – not one thing that the enemy brings against us that will defeat us. We are only asked to be His servants of mercy to a lost and dying world. The battle doesn't belong to us – the battle belongs to the Lord.
Restore to us the joy of Your salvation and provide us with the resources to receive the gift! Thank You!
