As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace and the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever. Isaiah 55:10-13 (NIV)
The prophet’s job is to bring a word of hope when all hope seems lost.
Isaiah does just that–makes the impossible seem possible again– in Isaiah 55:10-13.
I hope to offer a word of hope to you in the dark of the night. I hope to conjure up a world where the possible seems possible again. Like Isaiah tried to impart much needed perspective to his fellow exiles, I strive to help us survivors to look at our broken world with new eyes.
Isaiah is speaking to people who have walked through the trauma of the Babylonian Exile. They have experienced watching the desolation of their country, the demolition of their city, the destruction of their homes, and the dismantling of their families.
It is to these people, broken and fractured, he speaks a word of hope.
It it to you, broken and fractured, I speak a word of hope, a word from the Lord with the purpose of transforming our broken, fractured lives.
Isaiah talks about just as the rain and snow come to nourish the barren land–God’s word has the ability to transform and give us life in the most arid conditions. Betrayal is a scorched land.
May we “go out” as Isaiah charges his exiled people to “go out”–in freedom from our bondage and despair–freedom from settling for a life that is not what God intended for us. May we go out–not with our heads down, buried in shame and defeat that is not ours to carry.
Isaiah told his people, “You will go out in joy and be lead forth in peace…”
I tell you the same. You will. You will go out. You will go out in joy. You will go out in joy and be lead forth in peace.
God’s restoration, healing, and peace is available to his fractured people, and it even goes out to the trees of the field and the mountains and the hills — as they burst in to song and clap their hands. The chaos, the demolition, the destruction, and the dismantling have all been defeated.
It does not end there. Isaiah reminded his people in exile that God is eternal and that the word of God will be a memorial.
I am reminded too that God is with me always, even in my exile. I have not faced the trauma of the Babylonian exile, but I sincerely believe the Betrayal exile encompasses much of what the Israelites must have endured. We too have watched and endured the devastating impact of betrayal…beloved marriages destroyed, families torn apart, houses demolished, families dismantled….it is here in the place that I am reminded of God’s loyalty and steadfast love. Even in betrayal exile, even through we may sometimes feel very much alone in this foreign land in which we have been forced to dwell— God is with his people always. He is with me always.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever. Isaiah 55:13 (NIV)
We are beautifully broken. May we bloom where we are planted. May the impossible seem possible again. May we bloom again.
