Isaiah 58:11 - God Will Guide You Continually.
Isaiah 58:11: God Will Guide You Continually.
Isaiah 58:11 (NLT) THE LORD WILL GUIDE YOU CONTINUALLY, giving
you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be
like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.
Isaiah 58:11 (NIV) 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.
COMMENTARY PEARL
Look Up, Not Down
Beware of tech neck." No, this isn't a robot monster with
a metal neck. It's even scarier than that. Tech neck is a medical
condition created by constantly looking down at electronic devices - and
it's on the rise. Doctors have also seen an increase in "text thumb,"
an injury caused by too much texting. Medical professionals say
these kinds of repetitive-stress injuries used to be seen in people in
their sixties. Now teenagers and college students are among the
millions afflicted.
Physical therapists have created exercises to combat these
conditions. If you feel a bout of text thumb coming on, touch your thumb to
each of your fingers and repeat five times. You can also wrap a
rubber band around your hand and then open it against the resistance.
Many people have started to get massages to cure their tech neck. But
that can be expensive. An easier solution: stop looking down!
Computer screens, cell phones, tablets. With more and more
screen-based electronics, we find ourselves looking down a lot. Write a
paper. Look down. Read a book on a Nook. Look down. Receive a text.
Look down. Instead of looking down to communicate or find
information, we need to be looking up.
Examine The Case
When it comes to living our everyday lives, we should keep
our eyes focused on God, not an electronic device. Sure, we look
down when we bow our heads in prayer. But the Bible tells us to fix
our eyes on Christ. Isaiah 58:11 promises, The Lord will always
lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones"
(HCSB). The Lord leads us in different ways. God's commands help point
us in the right direction. They give us wisdom when we have to make
a tough decision. The Holy Spirit nudges us and reminds us of
God's teachings on the correct way to go. And God uses people in our
lives - parents, pastors, and other family members - who can provide
godly advice.
When you come to a difficult situation, remember to look up
to God. His way is always the right way. When we follow God's path,
he gives strength to our bones - not a pain in our necks.
Final Word
"The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched
land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and
like a spring whose waters never run dry" Isaiah 58:11 HCSB. [Case
For Christ For Kids by Les Strobel]
COMMENTARY
The Lord shall guide thee. Not an angel, but JEHOVAH
shall guide thee. He said he would not go through the wilderness
before his people, an angel should go before them to lead them in the
way; but Moses said, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not
up hence. Christian, God has not left you in your earthly
pilgrimage to an angels guidance: he himself leads the van. You may not
see the cloudy, fiery pillar, but Jehovah will never forsake you.
Notice the word shall"The Lord shall guide thee. How certain
this makes it! How sure it is that God will not forsake us! His
precious shalls and wills are better than mens oaths. I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Then observe the adverb
continually. We are not merely to be guided sometimes, but we are to have a
perpetual monitor; not occasionally to be left to our own understanding,
and so to wander, but we are continually to hear the guiding voice
of the Great Shepherd; and if we follow close at his heels, we
shall not err, but be led by a right way to a city to dwell in. If you
have to change your position in life; if you have to emigrate to
distant shores; if it should happen that you are cast into poverty, or
uplifted suddenly into a more responsible position than the one you now
occupy; if you are thrown among strangers, or cast among foes, yet
tremble not, for the Lord shall guide thee continually. There are
no dilemmas out of which you shall not be delivered if you live
near to God, and your heart be kept warm with holy love. He goes not
amiss who goes in the company of God. Like Enoch, walk with God, and
you cannot mistake your road. You have infallible wisdom to direct
you, immutable love to comfort you, and eternal power to defend you.
Jehovah"mark the word"Jehovah shall guide thee continually. [Morning
and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon]
Most people spend their lives on a relentless search for
fulfillment. Many people never find it. There's a wide range of reasons for
that, like being self-centered, pursuing empty dreams, developing
unworthy attachments, and neglecting or rejecting God's will. The bottom
line beneath all dissatisfaction is investing our hearts in something
that doesnt matter as much as we thought it did - or in other
words, in something less than God. He uses people, places, possessions,
and positions to satisfy us, but He never places them above Himself
as our ultimate fulfillment. When we are empty and unfulfilled, its
because our hearts have been misdirected.
Here in Isaiah, this misdirection - this seeking after
fulfillment in ways we weren't designed for - has caused God's people to
neglect others and serve themselves. God would love to satisfy them, but
they haven't positioned themselves for it. They have turned their
attention away from Him and His ways, pursuing instead their own plans.
They have given in to the temptation every human being faces.
Gods promise to guide us always, satisfy our needs,
strengthen us, and make us like a well-watered garden and an unceasing
spring is a description of the shalom we all crave. It's the peace and
fullness of His Kingdom, but it's offered only to those who accept the
Kingdom culture as their own. Its the fulfillment we've all sought -
often futilely - and its an open invitation to His people. This
search does not end in disappointment, no matter how many other
disappointments we've suffered. It's a promise to every heart that hopes in Him.
[The One Year Heaven On Earth Devotional by Chris Tiegreen]
Years ago, I used to spend time with Corrie ten Boom, the
much-loved Dutch Christian writer who, along with her family, helped many
Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. For many years,
Corrie traveled and spoke around the world, sharing the gospel and her
story of hope. Suffering a stroke, however, changed all that. Though
her tired and disabled body was approaching the winter of life, her
smile remained as bright as spring. She maintained her fresh spirit
and happy countenance even as she reached the age of ninety. Corrie
held on to the promise of today's Scripture: "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." Your body or soul may be in the grip
of winter today, but as you stay close to Jesus, your heart can
know the new life and the fresh hope of spring.
Lord, please flow through my life today like a fresh, clear
stream. Wash away all the regrets and resentments, the anxieties and
worries, the discouragement and negative thinking. Bring Your springtime,
with its soft light, fragrance, and new life, into the very center of
who I am. In You, Jesus, I am a well-watered garden. [A Spectacle of
Glory by Joni Eareckson Tada and Larry Libby]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Let Me infuse my peace into your innermost being. As you sit
quietly in the Light of My Presence, you can sense Peace growing within
you. This is not something that you accomplish through
self-discipline and willpower; it is opening yourself to receive My blessing.
In this age of independence, people find it hard to
acknowledge their neediness. However, I have taken you along a path that has
highlighted your need for Me: placing you in situations where your strengths
were irrelevant and your weaknesses were glaringly evident. Through
the aridity of those desert marches, I have drawn you closer and
closer to Myself. You have discovered flowers of Peace blossoming in
the most desolate places. You have learned to thank Me for hard
times and difficult journeys, trusting that through them I accomplish
My best work. You have realized that needing Me is the key to
knowing Me intimately, which is the gift above all gifts. (Isa. 58:11;
40:11) [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young]
CLOSING THOUGHT
When you strive to be a spiritual person, you fight the
constant battle of "ritual versus reality." It is much easier to go
through the external activities of religion than it is to love God from
your heart and let that love touch the lives of others. It is a
matter not of either/or but of both/and: worshiping God from the heart
and serving others in love. James stated, "Faith without works is
dead" (2:20).
The orthodox faith was popular in Judah at that time, and
people enjoyed learning the Word and even participating in fasts (vv.
2-3). But when the services were over, the worshipers went back to
exploiting people and pleasing themselves.
What a difference it makes when we repent and return to the
Lord (vv. 8-12)! We have light instead of darkness, healing instead
of disease, righteousness instead of defilement, glory instead of
disgrace; and life becomes a watered garden, not a dismal swamp. [Chapter
by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/
ABible.com: http://www.aBible.com
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Restoring The Power by John Bradshaw:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRogO1SxoZN15Boa7BMon4BouVMdteVaq
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Last Day Prophecy: His Other Sheep by Pastor Gerald Babanezhad:
https://vimeo.com/162267518
