Isaiah - Hope

 

Good morning.  

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Question of the day:  What did you enjoy most about this years Thanksgiving meal?

Read together:  Isaiah 25

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
    the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
    cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
    a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
    is like a storm driving against a wall
5     and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

9 In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;
    but Moab will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down their pride
    despite the cleverness of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls
    and lay them low;
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

Can we just stop for a moment and acknowledge how wonderful it is to praise! What a breath of fresh air! 

What an important lesson.

When we are drowning in stress...  STOP and PRAISE GOD! 

When we are hurting and mourning... PRAISE GOD! 

When we are anxious.. Praise God!

When we are in need or when we are in plenty... PRAISE GOD!

Why?

Why praise?

What does praise look like? 

Verses 1-3

It is important to remember what the previous chapters were talking about.  Remember the destruction was getting rid of the threats against the Israelites.  We need to be praising God for what He has done and is doing and will do to cover us!

Verses 4-5

If we are to be like Him... then what? 

Verses 6-8

Notice "all people" 

What is available for all? 

Verses 9-12

This passage should be our praise! 

Today, I would like for each of us to make this passage personal.  Very personal.  I have a sheet of paper with this chapter and some lines for writing.  I want you to write your name in this passage where appropriate.  I want you to write what your "storm" is, what your "foreigner" is, etc.  Take some time to make this passage a personal praise!  A personal song of what God is to you! 

Happy Sabbath and Happy Thanksgiving.