Isaiah 11:1-3
11 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
This is one of those passages where it can be so easy to get caught up in the glorious imagery of the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and fear of the Lord being upon that one person, a Savior, who will be so intimately connected to God.
What can be hard is remembering how that all started: it started with a stump. A tree needed to be cut down in order for that new growth to begin. Something needed to be removed, before that glorious new branch was able to emerge.
The same is truth with each of us. In order to allow that new growth that is of God to develop, we need to remove those things in our life that are inhibiting us from being in relationship with the Divine. We need to cut the sin out, for when we do, God has the opportunity to grow in and through us!
Gracious God, so many of us wonder if we are nothing more than a lost cause: destined to struggle with those sins that burden us. But in You Lord, all things are possible, even growing in new ways that bring glory to You! Lord, let it be so. Amen.
I remember the Hart's sharing a story about a trip they took to visit Ground Zero the December after September 11th. It always makes me think of this passage. It was a extremely warm day for December and among all the devastation and loss bloomed a wild rose. An unbelievable site. It was a reminder that God has the ability to bring new life out of death. Sue Newborn
ReplyDeleteOh, the promise of this passage!!
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