Provision with Proper Alignment: Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Sometimes we come across a passage that breathes much needed encouragement into our weary souls. We all have those verses we meditate on, could post on our fridge, print on a t-shirt, or set as our phone background – those personal favorites we cling to. When you think about your go-to verses, can you go beyond that one verse? When you quote it to someone in need of encouragement, can you tell them why this verse is so important within the context of its entire passage?
Isaiah 58:11 is one of my verses, but as you read it and are likely, like me, very encouraged by it, I am inclined to go beyond this singular verse and recognize that the true encouragement is held in the surrounding verses.
At this point in the Prophet Isaiah’s life, he has been relaying God’s warnings to the Israelite’s for a long time. Chapter 58 begins with God commanding Isaiah to go tell His people that He sees what they are really doing and knows the selfish motivation in their hearts. God tells Isaiah to call out the people’s sin and tell them yet again that there are consequences for wickedness.
The people have been putting on a show of obedience and piety, but God knows that their motivations are self-centered and self-seeking. They disregard what God commands, yet go on doing things that they expect to influence God to give them what they want. They disobey God all while trying to manipulate God into granting their selfish wishes, like He is a genie in a bottle.
We can easily look at the Israelites and say “shame on them!” In truth, however, we are all too often caught doing the same thing. Do you read the Word daily in order to have a personal relationship with God? Do you pray for God’s will to be done, and are content with His will over your own? Do you show off the good things you are doing in His name or expect some thanks or recognition for your service to the Lord? Do you point out what others are doing wrong, yet make excuses for the ways you disobey God? Do you show up at church or attend a Bible study because you feel obligated or to make friends, but not to grow in the Word and with God? Are you refusing to go beyond the spoon-feeding stages of your faith? Are you refusing to be used by God for His purposes? Is there an area of your life that is off-limits to God? Are you willing to do uncomfortable things to serve God?
Isaiah 58:11 is a promise from God that He will guide His people, satisfy our souls, and make us prosperous and blessed. But here’s the catch – God is telling the Israelites, and future generations of believers, that blessings come to the obedient. When you are living in authentic relationship with the Lord, walking with Him, loving Him with your life, living in obedience to Him because of your love for Him, and doing the uncomfortable things He calls you to do, He promises to bless you, provide for the work He calls you to do, and make you prosper in the ways He desires.
This is not a promise of provisions and prosperity in exchange for good works. This is not a promise of granted wishes for piety. This is not a promise of a trouble-free life. This promise is God telling us that when we put Him first, He blesses us, provides for us to do the work He assigns for us, and that by living in faithful obedience to Him and prioritizing His will, we will prosper in ways that will allow us to pour out His blessings beyond ourselves.
We must be selfless in order to be truly used for God’s purposes. Before we can expect blessings from God, we must repent and turn to Him and His ways, and away from our own self-seeking ambitions and self-absorbed behavior. We must allow Him control and sovereignty over every area of our lives, and love and serve Him the ways He teaches and commands us to do.
Only when we are in proper alignment with God can we expect to receive what He promises to the righteous. It will not always, and honestly rarely will, show up in the ways we might expect or prefer, but God knows all things and will always provide and bless in the ways He knows is best for His purposes and glory, not our own selfish preferences or short-sighted wishes. He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, and He knows how to work all things together for the good of all who love Him.
So, what is God calling on you to do? Where is He convicting you to repent and surrender to Him? Where does He need your focus to change? What hardness in your heart is He working to chip away and soften?
Where He calls you to go, He will not only provide for you but He will go with you. He is all you need, so He will never abandon you – even in the times you cannot sense Him, He is there with you and desires you to earnestly seek Him, draw near, and do His will all while laying your own will at the foot of the cross.
When I am obedient to God and my focus is on Him; when I am repentant and selfless, the Lord will perpetually guide and stretch me, turning my eyes toward Him, and my desires will be satisfied in excess. The very seat of my emotions, character, will and desires will be equipped for spiritual warfare, transforming me from a parched land of self-centeredness into a prosperous and fertile source of His light, life and nourishment to those around me so that I will not disappoint Him, hurt others, or lead them astray in selfishness.
