ISAIAH...

I just finished my bible study on Isaiah. It only took me 9 months to do a 3 month study. Thank God that there isn't a dead line to finish. (I meant that literally).

So Isaiah wasn't exactly what I thought I needed. But God knew better. He knew I'd be heading into the desert. He knew I'd need the words of a man who has seen a few deserts and could remember God's promises. I'd need to remember that God's ways are perfect and it matters how we respond to who he is. That freedom is found in surrender and dependence. That freedom is found in doing it God's ways, instead of our own. That it's not about being religious, or legalistic. It's not just about following the law. But about understanding God's heart, desiring to be in this will, and trusting him with your deepest needs.

It is really this simple...
doing it myself = weary, frightened, angry and alone
depending and surrendering to God = redeemed, soaring on the wings of an eagle

9 months of study, and it comes down to that equation. However, I couldn't have gotten there without understanding how the Israelites struggled, just like me, to depend on God. And how things went south every time they stopped looking to God. And how God redeemed them when they came back. He always redeemed them. Always! Not when they were good enough, or sorry enough, or strong enough, or deserved it. Which is good because I'm sure not going to ever be strong enough, sorry enough or good enough. I try, and get weary. And then I yell at someone in traffic, or get petty with R, or start to question the task God has called me to. And there he is, ready to begin anew.
Isaiah 61:1-4
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort those who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, an planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
Or how I heard God saying it to me:
Isaiah has been given this proclamation - to bring joy filled news to those with little or nothing. That he is going heal the wounds in your heart, he is going to give you freedom in the areas you are in bondage to. He will show who he is through the work he does in my life. He will comfort me as I mourn, he will provide what I need to walk through grief. And it will be to give me a spirit that is beautiful for all to see, instead of the ugliness I can be. He will give me happiness instead of hurt, and an ability to praise instead of despair. And all of this will display his goodness for all to see.

When your in the desert, those words are water to your soul.