Run on to see what the end will be . . .

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come with vengeance; with divine retribution

he will come to save you.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

Isaiah 35:3-7

From all that the Lord has been saying to me these days, it has been clear that a great transformation is occurring. In each of our lives there are times that God is about to do a great work. The thing is, He chooses to work through us, His people. He chooses to use us as his hands and feet. That would be okay if the work that he was going to do was within what I could accomplish on my own. I would gladly welcome His telling me HE was going to do a great work. But when this great work is going to require ME to act and do . . . well . . . that is a lot harder to welcome.

See I know some of my weaknesses. I also know that there are other weaknesses that I do not know of that may prevent my being able to do this great work. I am lazy in many ways. I prefer things to go my way. I do not care too much for much change and am in some ways a little scared of consistent growth. You know, the type of growth that one day you look in the mirror and do not recognize yourself because of how much you have changed. You know, the type of growth that requires that you leave some persons you thought were friends and make new ones from the very persons you would not have even spoken to a month ago. You know, the type of change that makes you give money away to strangers. You know, the type of change that has you taking a beating rather than being the one giving it out – you are not hitting the other cheek, you are turning yours to be hit. You know, the type of change that . . . well . . . you just don't know what you will look like and be afterwards. It is harder to follow God into this unknown new me.

I am scared.

To my fear He answers:

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come with vengeance; with divine retribution

he will come to save you.”

Have you ever noticed that God never calls His people to be weak? Have you noticed that even when He is telling us to rely upon Him, God is telling us to do so with no fear and in total strength. “Be strong and do not fear.” It is as if this God we serve knows more about what is within us than we do. It seems like he knows that in our agreeing and doing what He says we will find our strength, we will not be lazy but industrious. He knows that we will love the direction He is taking us. He knows that when we later look in the mirror the person we will see will look different and we will rejoice at the difference. He knows that those we left behind will pale in comparison to the true family He is giving to us; friends who truly love us as we are and who stick closer than the best of brothers. He knows that we will love His economy where what we give away is more than replaced by the blessing that He gives in return, by His provision, His abundance. He knows that when you take a beating instead of giving one, and when you turn the other cheek instead of hitting one you and I will come to understand the words of the missionary: “He is no fool who gives up what He can not keep, to gain what He can not loose.” God knows that the unknown you and I in Him is so much better than the known you and I without Him. God knows.

And so He commands us to be strong and do not fear. Why? Because He is coming. He is coming with vengeance and divine retribution to save us.

Now don't think about vengeance like He is coming to beat up on all your enemies. Here I would like for you to think of the speed and determination, the massive power and authority of a conquering army coming to accomplish the will of the King. An army coming to free His people who have been enslaved. An army coming to “let my people go!” God's army coming to save us!

The context of this writing is just that. God was telling His people that He was about to save and restore them from their captives the Babylonians. It is such a love that God has for His own, for us, that we see illustrated here. But recognize it is more than simply a freedom and salvation from captivity from others, it is freedom and captivity from themselves.

The phrase: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped . . .” is often used throughout the bible to communicate God's people coming into an understanding Him. It is used to mean that they finally see and understand what God is doing; what His kingdom agenda is in their life; what His plan is; what He has been saying to them. So His coming brings freedom and insight to us from our own misunderstandings, ignorance and stupidity of Him. And with that we can not do what we were originally designed to do. Our lame “leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”

We become all that we were designed to be! And our world, the environment in which we live . . .

What was wilderness now has life. Where there was dryness and desert we now have streams. What was a burning sand trap becomes a pool to drink from. Parched land needing water becomes a source of bubbling springs. Where our enemy hid, is now a place of beauty and provision. Our environment has changed.

I think I will take His word and do it. I think I will thank Him for choosing to work through me. I think I will do as the old Negro spiritual said: “run on, to see what the end will be . . .”

Care to join me?

Got Word?

Love yah,