Isaiah 62:1-5
1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. 2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Many of these devotions focus on the ways we fall short in our personal lives. But there is good news too, the hope and promise that God will change us. The time will come when we will no longer be called "forsaken" or "desolate" (verse 4), when we will no longer feel inadequate, shamed, or abandoned. Instead, we will be called by "a new name" (verse 2). One of the new names we will be given is "married" (verse 4), which seems rather odd to our modern ears. The meaning here is that we will be loved, that "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you" (verse 5). Think about that statement: God will rejoice over you! Part of me tends to believe that God will accept me, but He won't rejoice over me because I'm not worthy. But this isn't about my worthiness, it's about His love. Furthermore, when I accept His extravagant love, I have less need to find false love in other places.
Lord, thank you for delighting in me.
1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. 2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Many of these devotions focus on the ways we fall short in our personal lives. But there is good news too, the hope and promise that God will change us. The time will come when we will no longer be called "forsaken" or "desolate" (verse 4), when we will no longer feel inadequate, shamed, or abandoned. Instead, we will be called by "a new name" (verse 2). One of the new names we will be given is "married" (verse 4), which seems rather odd to our modern ears. The meaning here is that we will be loved, that "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you" (verse 5). Think about that statement: God will rejoice over you! Part of me tends to believe that God will accept me, but He won't rejoice over me because I'm not worthy. But this isn't about my worthiness, it's about His love. Furthermore, when I accept His extravagant love, I have less need to find false love in other places.
Lord, thank you for delighting in me.