Scripture: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” – Isaiah 61:10
Examination of Chapter: Isaiah begins by stating his qualifications to the people of Israel as anointed by God to preach to them. He writes about the joy that the God’s chosen people will experience when He restores Israel to its land.
Application: One of my favorite places to pray is in my car. While that may seem odd to some, I find it a place where I can bear my soul, cry, laugh, plead without any interruptions. I play instrumental hymns on my radio, and then have a time chatting with my heavenly Father. BTW, I do not bow my head, nor do I close my eyes! It’s good to know that no matter where I am or what position I am in, God still hears my prayers!
It truly baffles my mind to think that the Creator of all things, the Almighty God, knows my name, and not only that, but when I pray, His ear is inclined toward ME! He listens as if I were the only one praying! To me, that is absolutely overwhelming! After all, in the overall scope of things, I am merely one out of billions of individuals who have ever lived, yet God knows me specifically! That is simply incomprehensible!
I know that Jesus died for me, and I know without a doubt that I will spend eternity with Him, but I have to admit that it still amazes me to know that even when God knew exactly who I would be, what I would do, how I would disappoint Him again and again… even after being saved… that He still chose to give me life and eventually become part of His glorious family!
As I ponder my own state of depravity, which I still have regardless of being saved, I am faced with the reality of the weakness of my faith and how easy it is for me to choose sin over righteousness. This is not an attribute of which I am proud. Instead, it grieves me greatly. I find myself begging for forgiveness, which God always gives. I don’t know why He loves me as much as He does, especially since I don’t have anything to offer Him that He can’t obtain on His own. It is then that the Holy Spirit whispers to my heart, “Jayne, you don’t have to understand that. Just believe and accept the truth of my Word.” What a treasure to know that there is nothing I can do to merit God’s love. He gives it to me full and overflowing and that is overwhelming.
Here is what I know from the Word of God.
- I don’t know why I am so important to Him; I just know that I am.
- “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” – Psalm 139:17
- I don’t know why He has a specific plan for my life, but I know that He does.
- “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah 29:11
- I don’t know why He inclines His ear towards me when I pray, but I most certainly know that He does.
- “I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.” – Psalm 116:1-2
- I don’t know why He continually works on me, but I know that He does.
- “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” – Philippians 1:6
- Lastly, I don’t know why He loves me like He does, but I am certain He does.
- “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” – Jeremiah 31:3
Isaiah 64:6 speaks to the truth of our unworthiness, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” But the wonderful truth of my relationship with God is that I don’t rejoice in who I am or what I’ve done for Him; I rejoice solely in Him! Habakkuk 3:18 states, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” I rejoice because God loves me and saved me from my sins! His joy became mine forever the moment I accepted Christ as my Saviour! No matter what happens in my life, no matter how I feel or don’t feel, the wonderful truth of God’s Word is found in my relationship with Jesus. 1 Peter 1:18 reinforces this, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”
I love my prayer time in my car because every time the Lord and I share a drive, His Spirit speaks to my heart in the most remarkable ways, and for that, I rejoice! Philippians 4:4 instructs us to “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” I can rejoice in the Lord always simply because I am a child of God! With Jesus is my Lord and Saviour and my eternal joy, I can truly “Rejoice evermore.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16).
Memory verse: “But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.” – Psalm 68:3