Isaiah 35:1-10
1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Is 35:1–10). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Jesus Christ comes to make the Blind to See and the deaf to hear. He comes to help people to be renewed. He gathers them together upon the highway in which there is nothing to fear. But most of us struggle with varying anxieties. Jesus is the one who strengthens the weak. But my favorite part of Isaiah 35 is that God takes the wastelands and the deserts and makes them bloom again. God will truly renew and restore his creation.
He strengthens the weak hands and the feeble knees of people. Jesus Christ does heal many of their various diseases. But there is still one that stands out in this text. There is one struggle or disease that most of us simply over look. "Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not!'" In other words one could simply say, "Buck Up!" and "Pull yourself Together!" Is this the advise of the LORD to say to people struggling with stress and anxiety?
He says more, "Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." God has come to save his people from their sins. God will repay all for their sins. God has paid the price for all sins. He sent his Son to die for the forgiveness of all your sins. God has given people strength and renewal. God has provided his people with a Way of Holiness upon which there is nothing to fear.
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