A portion of my Bible reading this morning was from Isaiah 26, and God pushed on me to come blog about it. As with everything I write, I don't know if it will speak to or challenge anyone else, but here's how it spoke to me this morning:
Isaiah 26:1-6
On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city.
Salvation is established as walls and ramparts.
Open the gates
so a righteous nation can come in—
one that remains faithful.
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You
in perfect peace,
for it is trusting in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
because in Yah, the LORD, is an everlasting rock!
For He has humbled those who live in lofty places—
an inaccessible city.
He brings it down; He brings it down to the ground;
He throws it to the dust.
Feet trample it,
the feet of the humble,
the steps of the poor.
As I read those words this morning I received an overwhelming sense of comfort and peace but also a sense of warning and caution. It's strange to have both of those feelings at once, so I spent some time processing and praying through what I was experiencing.
I spent some time praying, then continued reading some passages in Numbers and Psalms and 1 John, and those feelings of comfort and caution became even more clear. First of all, I was comforted and peaceful and excited about the fact that my God is bigger and stronger and more righteous than anyone and anything else I encounter. No matter the situation, the circumstance, or the person I'm dealing with, God can and has already taken care of that situation. There can be so much peace in the middle of chaos when we, as verse 4 says above, "Trust in the LORD forever". I think the reason for those feelings of overwhelming comfort and peace that came over me are the result of me ignoring this fact more often than not. I'm an analyzer and an over-thinker, which are words I use to make myself feel like I'm not a sinful worrier, which is probably more accurate.
Trust in the LORD forever - today, tomorrow, the next day, and the thousands of days after that.
Trust in the LORD forever - when my baby girl is in the hospital, when the ultrasound confirms the bad news, when my dad didn't make it home from the game.
Trust in the LORD forever - when the path seems scarier and more confusing than ever before.
Trust in the LORD forever. Five simple words that, when believed and practiced, will transform lives. I already believe it's true, now it's time to put that belief into action.
The other emotion that swept over me this morning was that of caution. Verses 5 and 6 are a little bit scary, especially knowing that pride is something I can struggle with. I don't want to be in that lofty, inaccessible place, a place I don't deserve and a place that only leaves me with one way to go. God deserves the highest pedestal in our lives, and He is going to make sure He has that rightful place. The question becomes, how hard am I going to fight Him for it? That passage gave me a quick reminder this morning that if I don't remain humble by constantly remembering how big and worthy and just and righteous He is and just how opposite I am of those things, then He will help me remember.
He brings it down, He brings it to the ground, He throws it to the dust. For selfish and unselfish reasons, I don't want that to happen to me.
We have been praying a ton at New Heights. In our Sunday services, in Connection groups, in prayer meetings, and one of the prayer requests that came out the other day is that "we wouldn't get too big for our britches." I loved it and I've been praying that prayer a lot lately. For me as a leader, I need to make sure I don't get too big for my britches, and that can only happen by giving up the burden AND the recognition to the One who wants and deserves it all. Whether our student and college ministry has 5 students or 500 students, it will only happen by God's grace and through His provision, and not one bit because of who I am.
God's big and I'm not, and I take incredible comfort and peace in that.
