Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Isaiah 43:5-7 (NIV)
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:5-7 (MSG)
“So don’t be afraid: I’m with you. I’ll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from east and west. I’ll send orders north and south: ‘Send them back. Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from faraway places. I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.’”
*************************************
“Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east [where they are scattered], and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from far way and My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My Name, whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”-AMPLIFIED
Yesterdays passage reminded us that everyone is precious in God’s sight.
“Since you are cherished and precious in my eyes,
and because I love you dearly and want to honor you,
I willingly give up nations in exchange for you—
a man to save your life.” -Isaiah 43:4 (The Passion Translation)
Today’s text teaches us that God will do whatever it takes to restore and reunite His children with Him.
“So don’t be afraid. I am here. I will reunite you with your children, bringing them back from wherever in the world they are—East, West, North, or South. No place will be able to hold you when I demand your release, when I order them, “Bring My children—My sons and daughters—from far away. Bring the ones who are called by My name; the ones I made, shaped, and created for My profound glory.” -(VOICE)
Yahweh speaks to His children, reminding them once again to not be afraid of what is happening. Not to fear what see, with their physical eyes. What seems like chaos, and pandemonium, in truth would work out for their good. God makes a few promises to His children of what He will personally do for them:
1.) “I will gather your children from the east.” -(ICB)
2.) “I will gather you from the west.” -(ICB)
3.) “I will tell the north: Give my people to me.” -(ICB)
4.) ” I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison.” -(ICB)
Take notice, though the people of Israel will be scattered throughout the earth, God will bring them back together. Children and parents reunited. Prisoners released, set free. God will do this for His children. In turn, we find God asking something in return, three things:
1.) “Bring my sons from far away.” -(ICB)
2.) “Bring my daughters from faraway places.” -(ICB)
3.) “Bring to me all the people who are mine.” -(ICB)
Why? Why does God desire the people of Israel to do this? God, Himself, gives us the answer.
“I made them for my glory. I formed them; I made them.” -(ICB)
“I myself formed them to be who they are and made them for my glory.” -(The Passion Translation)
This is a prophecy of not only restoration for Israel, but one that tells of a great world-wide harvest among the nations. And the reason behind this world-wide harvest is to bring about what God always intended, people were created to glory to God, and to experience His glory as well. God designed us with the intention that we would have relationship with Him.
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you from east and west, from north and south. I will bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the farthest corners of the earth. All who claim me as their God will come, for I have made them for my glory; I created them.” -(TLB)
“God’s presence and blessing with Israel would also be demonstrated by unleashing the shackles of their exile. They could have hope for the future because they knew they were called by the name of the LORD, and they were created for His glory. Whom I have created for My glory means that God not only has created us but that He has created us for a purpose. If we have no Creator, then we are purposeless; but God has created us, and He did it for a purpose, creating us for His glory. This means that when we are glorifying God, we are fulfilling the purpose we were created for, and will therefore be the happiest and fulfilled.” ~David Guzik
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Colossian church, expresses to us the depths of God’s love, and the fact that God did whatever it took to set us free from sin, and restore our relationship with Him. Paul wrote:
“Through our union with him we have experienced circumcision of heart. All of the guilt and power of sin has been cut away and is now extinct because of what Christ, the Anointed One, has accomplished for us. For we’ve been buried with him into his death. Our “baptism into death” also means we were raised with him when we believed in God’s resurrection power, the power that raised him from death’s realm. This “realm of death” describes our former state, for we were held in sin’s grasp. But now, we’ve been resurrected out of that “realm of death” never to return, for we are forever alive and forgiven of all our sins! He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—he deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation. Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!” -Colossians 2:11-15 (The Passion Translation)
The Apostle Paul also reminds us that we have been bought with a price, and we need to be bringing glory to God with our bodies. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
“You have been purchased at a great price, so use your body to bring glory to God!” -1 Corinthians 6:20 (VOICE)
“God wills our liberation, our exodus from Egypt. God wills our reconciliation, our return from exile. God wills our enlightenment, our seeing. God wills our forgiveness, our release from sin and guilt. God wills that we see ourselves as God’s beloved. God wills our resurrection, our passage from death to life. God wills for us food and drink that satisfy our hunger and thirst. God wills, comprehensively, our well-being – not just my well-being as an individual but the well-being of all of us and of the whole of creation. In short, God wills our salvation, our healing, here on earth. The Christian life is about participating in the salvation of God.” ~Marcus J. Borg
My friend, God loves you, a lot. I hope you you realize this truth; sometimes it is so difficult to grasp. He has taken the initiative, and gone to great lengths to prove His love to you, and to me. He wants us to realize that there is nothing that He would not do to restore our relationship with Him. Remember, He created us for His glory, and so that we may experience His glory. We have been purchased at a great price, are you glorifying God with your body?
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved.” ~Paul (Ephesians 2:4-5)
My Prayer:
Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, I am so blessed to be loved by you. I am so overwhelmed by the fact that you have taken the initiative to restore our relationship. Thank you, Lord. I am so blessed. I cannot even express how this makes me feel. You are so good to me, and I love you so much. When others would have written me off as a hopeless case, you never gave up on me. You pursued me, and wooed me. You brought me back from the far most corners of the earth, saying that I was yours. I have been bought with a price, that I can never repay. I am so grateful. Lord, I am yours. ❤
Growing with God 