Light Day 18 – Isaiah 42:10-17

Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.
The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.
I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

Listen to these beautiful words of God and ponder what they mean for your life:

He brings the blind in a way they do not know.

He leads them in paths they have not known.

He makes darkness light before them.

He makes crooked things straight.

He does not forsake them.

Spiritually, we are born blind. Our flesh cannot see or comprehend the mysteries and the reality of the kingdom of God. Even once we have been born from above into the kingdom of God, it is often quite difficult for us to truly grasp and believe the reality of His kingdom.

But He leads us day by day and step by step deeper into His kingdom. He reveals more of who He is and how the kingdom works. As He opens our eyes to reveal more and more of Himself, truly it is a “way we know not.” Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither can heart comprehend the wondrous mysteries of the kingdom – they are spiritually discerned.

Furthermore, God’s ways aren’t man’s ways. The methods He uses to work in our lives aren’t the ones we would expect. The paths He leads us on may be entirely unfamiliar to our fleshly nature – yet the closer we grow to Him, the more familiar they will become.

This is the process of making darkness light before us. No longer are our paths overshadowed by the blackness of sin and flesh; we are on the path of the just, the shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day. As we walk by faith, not by sight, we find that each step on the path grows bright as we arrive.

No wonder Jesus exhorted us to “Take no thought for tomorrow; for tomorrow will take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” When we worry about the future, picturing everything that could go wrong, we forget to picture God there with us, lightening each step as we take it. Once we actually arrive at that spot in the future, we will find God’s grace, strength, and light are more than sufficient to carry us through it.

This is true because of the glorious promise in the final sentence of this verse: I “will…not forsake them.” As we walk along the life’s path with its many twists and turns, He is right there beside us every step of the way. He prepares the way before us, and He experiences it with us.

Whatever you may face today, whatever fears or unknowns may lurk in your future – believe and trust Him and His promise. He’s enough for you.