ISAIAH 62:4, Your land will be married

 

Isaiah 42:9

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 

See I am doing a new thing.

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 

My version:

Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things from the past.

Do not cling to the events that happened.

For what He will be doing - in fact already doing.

And is now happening!

These are nothing compare to those things of old.

We got married last September 15, 2020, Tuesday.
Exactly one week after we received our marriage license - our renewed marriage license.

This is a date we did not choose nor planned.
There is nothing special with the number fifteen for both of us too.
Even more, Tuesday is an uneasy day of the week for us to have a celebration with.

Yet, God made it happen.

Our church set the wedding date; but a few days before it, we are told that it will not be pushed through for some reason.

By this time, we have adjusted with our church's chosen date twice already - filing our leaves twice including our families.

It became stressful for us knowing we are just a few days away from our set wedding date and we still have no concrete plans how will our wedding be like.

We got no pastor to officiate our wedding, our venue is now unknown and we are not sure of our witnesses' availability for we haven't asked them yet.

But God one by one, made a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

September 9, Wednesday, God provided us a pastor to officiate our wedding then that same day, our venue confirmed it's availability including the number of guests they can accommodate with.

Lastly, some of our witnesses said yes to us.

It's like Tuesday we are problematic then Wednesday, God came to our rescue.

He really does hasten it in its time by sending His people's favor towards us - all compressed in just one day to bless us on our wedding day.

I remember asking God that Tuesday night,

"Is really marriage His will for me, for us?"
"Why is it so hard to get married?"
"Why did He impressed in my heart at the beginning of the year in Genesis 24:67 that Isaac and Rebekah got married in just one verse if this is what's happening to us now?"

The LORD, that same night answered me clearly in Isaiah 62:4.

... For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.

What an exact word right?
What a personal God He is!

This word is what I need at that moment.
This is really what I want to hear from Him that we are pursuing the right thing.
That we are under His will.

I was currently reading Isaiah at that time and many verses have struck my heart, encouraging me to believe that it will happen.

I wrote all the verses that touched me believing in my head that God will make it happen anytime soon but my heart doesn't feel the same way.

My heart has full of disbelief and fear of disappointment.

I'm afraid that my hope might break me again.

How ironic right?

Bible defines hope as something that never disappoints but my deceitful heart is just so anxious and too careful not to expect something again.

I fought this feeling by keeping with myself the verse from Philippians 4:6 which says,

Do not be anxious but pray.

Yet my heart doesn't follow right away.

Every day, I have to teach my heart to trust, practicing my faith - my walk with Him.

This pandemic honestly has weakens my faith.
I am not the same person who I used to be.

My delight in His words has become lesser.
I am more inclined to doubting instead of trusting.

I have few people to share with for many of them are experiencing difficulties and challenges too.

Personally, I'm afraid that I would too add to their burdens and became one of them so I just chose to share what's going on in me.

I also saw fewer models of faith in my real life at the moment, in this season.

Personal communication is too far from the virtual one.
Updates virtually are really different from that skin to skin and eye to eye conversation. 

But yes, God is my portion forever and the strength of my heart.

He is really faithful!
Isn't He?

When I read that word from Isaiah 62:4 that night, I was moved to read the previous bible readings I wrote in my journal just this September. 

Here are some of them.

Isaiah 60:22

I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.

Isaiah 55:12

You will go out with joy and be led forth with peace...

Isaiah 49:23

Those who hopefully wait for Me will never be put to shame.

Isaiah 46:10-11

My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure... Truly I have spoken; I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.

Isaiah 44:8

Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?...

Isaiah 44:3

Do not fear for I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground.

Isaiah 43:16

The Lord makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters. 

Isaiah 40:26

Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars... 

Isaiah 38:5

I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears... 

Isaiah 35:4

Say to those with anxious heart "Take Courage, Fear not"...

Yes, I believe that God will still accomplish His good plans for me and for us even if I will not ask or confirmed His will through His words.

But I will miss one thing.
And that is my time spent with Him during those difficult times of my life.

I might not realize it during those hard times but when things get better I know to myself that He was with me - never really left me.

He is a God who is indeed faithful and true to His words - to His promises.

Those heartbreaks we felt, those questions we asked, the whys in our life doesn't matter anymore.

We might not exactly never know why things went that way, why COVID 19 happened but I surrender it to Him.

I still have some questions in my heart but since God is not giving me an answer or understanding for all of these, I guess, to Him, it's not important for me to know the whys.

What's important is that I know He knows what He is doing, believing that whatever He does, He creates it for His own glory - like the beast of the fields and seas.

The Crocodiles, Bears, Lions, Tigers, or Sharks.

No one of us would ever want to have a close encounter with these creatures nor would have cared if they never existed.

Yet, we find them magnificent and powerful.

It brings glory to God.

We might not know what these creatures have exactly had to do in this world.

Our heartbreaks and disappointments too - we don't know why.

But yes, through our pains and sufferings God can be glorified.

Like the pain and suffering of Christ in the cross, it pleased God, it Glorified God.

Isaiah 53:10

But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief...

But after all of these, we will be honored as a victorious one like our savior Jesus.

He said forget all those pains and disappointments that have happened.

Do not call to mind that stressful months.

God is about to renew everything.

In fact, He has already started working.

We can see it now, don't we?