impinged

Seek life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.
- quoted from Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

These final verses are our marching orders. They give us the confidence to live out the above statement. We are free to live a life of adventure without fear. It isn’t a license to be foolish; however, it is a license to claim God’s promises to protect us. He promises to honor us, give us long life and salvation.

But wait, that sounds good but I know we’ve all gone through hard times and seen God honoring people die way too young. So how can this be? We need to remember God looks at us from an eternal perspective. His promises are eternal. This also gives us great confidence because we can trust that he knows what he is doing even when we can’t see what it is ourself.

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If we walk with God he will provide protection. He protects us as his chosen ones. He sends his angels to protect us. How awesome is that? If we cry out to him for help he will be with us in our troubles and rescue us. As I think about this though, God requires more than a passing glance or a panicked shout for help. He is asking us here to put our lives in his hands. Make him your refuge - living your life in him. Just like you physically dwell in a house, mentally and spiritually dwell with him. I think we often cry out to God in our pain wondering why he hasn’t protected us, but we have it all wrong. We spend much of our lives living on our own thinking we can do it ourselves and only seeking God when that stops working. If we live all our lives in desperate pursuit of Him, he becomes our shelter.

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Again I’ve really had to work out what God is saying in these verses with my pen. And then from pen and paper it is transcribed to here.

My understanding of what the Psalmist is saying is this: because we are in the world and evil is in the world, we will see evil. Evil may be all around us and we will see evil people prosper. However, as long as our trust, hope and faith are in God, the evil cannot enter us but it may affect us. Our perspective must be that of a spectator because we have a secret and that secret is we know who wins in the end. That is what we need to keep in mind for we don’t know what God is doing, and even if he told us we might not believe (see Habakkuk), but we do know that Jesus already won.

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I seriously struggled with these verses. For several days I read them over and over in multiple translations - constantly wondering what I would write. I knew I didn’t understand but again I trusted that when today came and it was time to write that God would show up. And he did. As I read the verses again today it was as if the clouds parted and a deep understanding flowed in…

In the past as I read these verses I always thought they said that if we believe in God “He will shield you with his wing.” He will protect us and no evil will befall us. But I know from my own experience that just isn’t true. But if the Bible says it and it isn’t true, then can we really trust the Bible? Oh how this perplexed me spreading doubt in my mind. Then, today as I read I saw something new. In verse 3 it says, “For he will rescue you from every trap.” For some reason I thought that meant we would avoid the traps altogether. Actually it implies that we will get caught in the trap: for who needs rescuing from a trap they haven’t been caught in? Instead, these verses tell us we will have hard times but God always be there to help us through.

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Life is dangerous. We will all face tragedy in life. And the scariest part about that truth is that we have no control over it. So how do we deal with the very real fears of everyday life? I used to be afraid of many things. Driving in the rain at night would give me visions of hydro-planing head long into a semi. Today it doesn’t bother me. Why? Because I’ve realized I am a child of God and he holds the universe in his hands. I know that no fate will befall me that he doesn’t allow. That doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen to me. It also doesn’t give me license to be foolish. It just means that I trust God and whatever happens he will see me through.

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There is a joy, that can’t be described, that becomes a part of the fabric of our being when we come to know Jesus Christ personally. In church a few weekends ago, Joel, the worship leader, prayed asking God to quench the thirst within us. I thought, “No Lord, don’t quench my thirst, make me thirstier for you!” For it has only been in this development of a deep and unquenchable thirst that I have found peace and joy in my life. Despite any problems that arise, I have the confidence of an overwhelming joy. And I believe that is what these verses in Isaiah speak of. The beginning verses of this chapter tell what Jesus is going to do and then these verses tell the result. What an amazing thing to be able to rejoice in the in the Lord in your own life. What an amazing gift to be able to share it with others.

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Life isn’t fair. As Christ followers we will suffer. Maybe our suffering will be as persecution. Maybe our suffering will be in watching the wicked prosper while we struggle. Maybe it will be through the refiners fire as God molds us for his purpose. Or maybe we will suffer because of our own stupid mistakes. Suffice it to say, regardless of the reason, we will suffer. In spite of that, we still have our God and we know who he is. He loves justice and will reward his people for their faithfulness in suffering.

“Everyone will realize that they are a people the Lord has blessed” Isaiah 61:9b

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Restoration. With the coming messiah also comes restoration. Jesus has come! Those who know him, and I mean know him not just a passive belief, find restoration of the desolation of generations.

What is more beautiful than our own restoration? Seeing others, whose lives are a mess, restored. It seems to be contagious: for when our own lives are healed we see the possibility for other to be healed and we want that for them. And so a revival starts - the energy of an unstoppable force.

In verse 6 the text says, “You shall eat the riches of Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast.” I believe the riches are God’s creation, eating of them means to take in God’s people who don’t yet know him. Boasting in their glory is the celebration of seeing people saved.

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“To give them beauty for ashes” - I love this line in verse 3. On my own I made a terrible mess of my life. Last night I had a dream in which I was crying because of the tremendous guilt I was carrying for all the destruction I caused in my past. But the truth is, I don’t carry that guilt. Jesus has set me free and exchanged my ashes for beauty.

Isaiah is prophesying about the work of Jesus in this chapter. When Jesus begins his ministry by returning to the temple in Nazareth, he quotes these verses saying that this is why he has come. This is the work of Jesus in our lives and the work he want to do through us in other’s lives. This is the mission of the Christ follower, for if we follow him then he dwells in us and his mission becomes our mission. It is our mission to bring good news to the poor, to comfort the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom! I believe Jesus didn’t come to change the world: he came to change individuals so that we may change the world!

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These last two verses of Habakkuk’s prayer are the most beautiful and inspiring of this book. He basically says that he knows there are going to be hard times ahead; he knows the road isn’t going to be easy, but even so, he can trust in God. In this affirmation of faith he is saying that in the hard times God will provide the strength to persevere. The picture of the deer is a beautiful illustration of his confidence in God.

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.