December 30 – Remembering For Purpose

“Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, Lord, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, and remembering You, is the desire of our souls.  At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” Isaiah 26:8-9 (NASB)

As the days on the calendar of this year tick off one by one, the favorite pastime of the media is to fill their time with memories of the year. This year has been challenging; we may find this activity less enjoyable than it has been in past years. For those of us who have put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, we can always count of the blessing of remembering that He has been with us on this rocky path. It is wonderful to have close fellowship with our Lord. This was the prophet Isaiah experience and he writes about it in today's verse. As we walk with the Lord we find that He satisfies the deepest desires of our heart. Those desires are those which come from Him and they are pure and good. When God created human beings He wanted to have fellowship with His creatures.  And God made us so that we would desire to be close to Him. So we find true satisfactions when we are close to Him. We are able to say that our inner being yearns for God night and day. Isn’t that a comforting promise we have been given today? 

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June 7 – Longing to Help

“Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” Isaiah 30:18 (NASB)

Do you ever hesitate to call on God for help in your life because you're thinking you might be bothering Him unnecessarily? Our verse today is a good one to keep in mind for times like that. Isaiah was one who knew well the truth of this promise. We should never think that we are bothering God when we call on Him for help. Our verse tells us that He is eager to show us His love, His grace, and His compassion. In fact, He longs to do so.  God has, however, given us the freedom of choice. He is eager to help but He desires that we ask Him to do it. He wants us to long for Him and for His help.  If we remember this, it will encourage us to look to God for help and to actually ask Him to demonstrate His love for us. Let's thank God for such a wonderful love and always remember the promise in this verse, He is waiting to have compassion on us and if we desire Him, we are blessed. 

December 28 – Night and Day

“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you.” Isaiah 26:8-9a (NIV)

It is wonderful to have close fellowship with our Lord. This is what the prophet Isaiah experience and writes about in today's verse. As we walk with the Lord we find that He satisfies the deepest desires of our heart. Those desires are even those which come from Him and they are pure and good. This is because that's the way He has made us. When God created human beings  He wanted to have fellowship with His creatures.  And God made us so that we would desire to be close to Him. That's why we find true satisfactions when we are close to Him. We are able to say that our inner being yearns for God night and day. Is that not a comforting promise we have been given today?