I came across two verses tonight that have me really thinking. They are Isaiah 33:5-6:
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
6 and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s1 treasure.
The Lord is exalted–there is none higher than the Lord. He even dwells on high! Where is this high located? The Lord is exalted above all others. He is exalted above me, in my self-righteous, prideful self.
He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. I am not sure what Isaiah means by Zion. But justice and righteousness I understand. Justice and God’s judgement is not something to run away from. I need to learn to accept God’s justice in my life-his judgement is always correct. He disciplines those he loves. And righteousness, a righteousness that we can not attain on our own–far from it. A righteousness that is counted to us by the death of Christ.
But here it is, here is the words that practically jumped off the page at me: He will be the stability of your times. Wow. Good grief. The Lord of the universe loves me enough to be the stability of my times. And so when I am unstable, when things are in chaos, when my board is in disarray and when I can’t stop shaking, my Lord will be the stability of my times. The lifter of my head. The healer of my hurt. My stability here in this new normal that is now my family’s life.
I need that stability. I need that firm foundation that I can feel under my feet as I try to give every day my very best in every task laid before me. I need that stability when I am woefully grieved. I need that stability in the middle of the night.
“abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge” 3 things that mean much to me.
Salvation……to know without doubting that I have experienced true salvation, abundantly.
Wisdom and knowledge. I want to be wise. and I continually quest for knowledge. Both Wisdom and knowledge come from outside of myself. They come from God. Without him, wisdom and knowledge would be impossible. O God, my soul!
“The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure”. How can this be? How can the fear of anything create treasure? I don’t know. But I do know that when I approach God in fear and respect early in the morning, then the treasure of that time alone with God becomes a treasure to my soul.
Stability. Feet firmly planted. Standing Fast. O God, be my stability even tonight.