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Isaiah 35:1-10

“Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display His glory, the splendor of our God. With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” And when He comes, He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.”

When life seems like a desert…it is God’s canvas for displaying His glory…hundreds of years without a Word from God. Written, yes. Memorized, yes. Fresh revelation, no.

God’s answer to us who are fearful and whose knees have begun to buckle because all we can see is wilderness and desert, “Be strong and do not fear, for God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” When He comes, He will open blind eyes, make the deaf hear, the lame to walk, the speechless sing for joy. Waters in the wastelands, gushing springs, lakes in the arid regions.

A way to walk, a highway, raised up so you can see clearly, a way without fools or evil minded folk, no dangers, the redeemed walk on it. Even our hearts and minds get changed when we get redeemed.

When one is ransomed by God, what makes those who do not know God afraid is no base for fear in us. Is there scary stuff, yes. Are there scary people, yes. Can they alter what God has done in you, no. Therefore, place your hope in the Lord and leave it there.


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