Friday 1 June 2018

June 1: Isaiah 35:1-4

Key Verse: Isaiah 35:1
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Devotion:
Although this passage was foretelling the state of the kingdom when Hezekiah was king, it does look far beyond simply saying how much the kingdom was to flourish at that time. This is typical of the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven. We will be given to rejoicing about everything because we will have Christ in our midst. We will no longer have to face such hardship and evil as we have to face today. We have seen kingdoms flourish as they obey Christ, our king. We have seen kingdoms brought to their knees as they take it away from Christ. When will man learn that this is God’s world and we have to come to Him?

We do not have to look too far to see people living a good life with Christ nowadays, even though we are reminded every day about the horrors of life which can await us because of the evil living amongst us. We can see how people’s greed, lust and pride have continued to erode society away to such a point that many people have given up on society and simply try to look out for themselves. Bringing God back into a community will bring His love back into the community. With that love things will turn around for that community. But, as we were reminded yesterday, evil is always lurking around the corner, waiting to trip us up.

If God can take a desert and turn it into a wonderful place to live for His people, then He can take a backslidden community and turn it round so He will once again get the glory. Man may be able to make a garden in the desert, but He cannot change the hearts of other men like God and His Word can. We need to show people we care so much we are willing to make sure God is in charge. We need to bring Him back into our communities so that He can love us the way He wants to and so we can love Him back. What better way than to sing out your love to Christ?

Points to Ponder:
How often do you sing?

How often do those songs praise God?