“To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3
At the conclusion of a lengthy study through the lengthy book of Isaiah—I find Isaiah 61:1-3 to be one of the most compelling passages in the entire book. It begins with a clear proclamation of the coming of Messiah who would preach good news…who would BE good news…to the poor, the brokenhearted, the captive, the imprisoned (61:1). What makes this revelation so powerful is that in spite of years of hardship and trial, God still had great plans for His people Israel. He promised them a future beyond their wildest imaginations. In spite of their disobedience and persistent unfaithfulness, they were never abandoned. Of course, the promise, here, is not only for them. It is also for us. For we also share in the blessing of God’s Messiah—the redemption He purchased on the cross. And in reality, we are the poor, the brokenhearted, the captive, the imprisoned He came to save. He has bestowed on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, provided us with the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and given us a garment of praise instead of mourning. He is our salvation. Yet, like Israel, we are prone to look to so many other sources of salvation. O, certainly, we acknowledge that forgiveness and eternal life are only found through Christ’s sin-conquering death on the cross. But when the first obstacle comes along, we return to the “I think I can” form of self-sufficient, self-dependent religion exhibited by the people of Israel. It is this predilection to self-sufficiency and self-dependence that moved God to promise His provision for Israel and to say, “Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” Isaiah 60:16. This is a lesson we, like Israel, struggle to learn. Salvation from life’s obstacles is not found in Egypt or chariots or America or retirement savings. Salvation is found in Yahweh, and Yahweh alone. Why do we find it so difficult to grasp this important lesson? Why are we so quick, in the face of dark times or obstacles in life, to turn to human ingenuity, pleasures, success and our own scheming? Why are we unable to trust in God’s promise—“I, Yahweh, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One”? It boggles the mind. In my own life, I have seen God’s faithfulness time and time again. In times when I was certain the obstacles before me were simply too great, when I was weighed down with worry, when I was stressed out by circumstances—God has shown Himself faithful over and over again. And yet…and yet, in spite of decades of seeing His faithfulness—how easily I fall back into becoming stressed, worried and overwhelmed rather than trusting in God like an oak of righteousness. I love oak trees. However, this was not always the case. As a child, I thought oaks were rather ugly. And there were quite a few oaks out in the country where I grew up. The dairy farm which backed up to our property had a ton of them. There was even a dead end street where our school bus stopped named, “7 Oaks Lane.” All of these oaks, in late fall and winter, looked so barren and ugly without their leaves. Today, I appreciate the oak. I appreciate it, in part, because I have learned to see beauty in the form and shape of deciduous trees after their leaves have fallen. But I also appreciate the oak tree because it is so strong and stately. The wind and rains come and go, and though it may lose its leaves, it goes on standing there as if to say, “is that all you’ve got?” This is what God envisioned for His people Israel. And this is what He desires for us…that we would not be so easily swayed by every wind, but that we would stand strong and firm, a testament to the fact that those who are grounded in Yahweh God cannot be moved. We become a display of His splendor by living lives of trust in Him. God’s call to His church today is the same as His call to Israel thousands of years ago, “I, Yahweh, am your Savior.” The question is, will we choose to trust in Him in the face of life’s storms, or will we look to our own strength, scheming, ingenuity? Individually, in the face of trials, will we day by day, moment by moment, turn to Him for help, for comfort, for wisdom? Corporately, in the face of great obstacles, will we trust Him “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20)? Let us learn, more and more, to put our trust in Yahweh, that we might “be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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