These are some wonderful promises the prophet declares here
in Isaiah. I doubt there is a person who wouldn’t want such blessings in their lives
daily. I know I do. I have read these promises for years and ask God to make
them real in my life. The thing is, there are a lot of conditions that go with
these promises. In the above verses I left the word “Then” out. The Almighty gave several actions that if we do the
above things will happen in our life.
As the above chapter begins Israel is complaining that God
is not paying any attention to their religious actions. They are having church
and even praying and fasting and the Lord does not even seem to notice.
…they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that did
righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me
the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. 'Why have we
fasted,' they say, 'and You
have not seen? (Verses 2-3 NKJV)
It is
then that the Almighty declares why He is not touching their lives even though
they are preforming religious acts. God then tells them that they are missing
the whole reason for fasting and prayer. They perform religious acts but they
never change their life actions. It is then that God tells them the kind of
actions He wants to see in their living.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the
chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to
provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Verses 6-7 NIV)
God
said, what I want to see out of you is this, break the chain of injustice you
hold over people, stop allowing a person’s past to dictate your thoughts after
repentance. Stop allowing the color of their skin to determine if God can do great
things with them. Get rid of exploitation in the work place. Stop taking advantage
of people you lead. Free the burdened and cancel debts. Stop living and treating
people like they owe you. (Just a few thoughts
of translating these words into today’s world.) Start sharing your food with people who
don’t have anything to eat. Invite the homeless and poor into your homes. Put
cloths on the shivering ill-clad. Become available to your own families; take
time for your own flesh and blood. God told them this is what He wanted to see
in their lives.
It is
then the word “Then” comes into play with the verses I started with. If we do
what God wants with our lives then the promises happen. Then your light will
break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; And your righteousness will go
before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD
will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I…
God
then has more conditions. (Verse 9-10)
"If you
do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious
talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of
the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like
the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a
sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a
well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
We
each want the wonderful blessing of God on our life. We each want our lives to
shine with blessings. God is ready to do just that If
we will live with our lives daily like He wants us to live.
Learn to live beyond your own self and wants, learn to live your life to touch
someone else. Smile and bless someone’s life today your life is depending on
it.
