[Discoveries] 08-16-08 Triumph-- Isaiah 37:22-29,35

[Inspiration in Your Inbox]

"The Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises and mocks you.
The Daughter of Jerusalem
tosses her head as you flee.
Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
By your messengers
you have heaped insults on the Lord.
And you have said,
'With my many chariots
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its pines.
I have reached its remotest heights,
the finest of its forests.
I have dug wells in foreign lands
and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.'

"Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.
Their people, drained of power,
are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
like tender green shoots,
like grass sprouting on the roof,
scorched before it grows up.

"But I know where you stay
and when you come and go
and how you rage against me.
Because you rage against me
and because your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
by the way you came.

"I will defend this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!"
-- Isaiah 37:22-29,35

This is a long passage of scripture, but it's so good I really couldn't 
find any place to cut it down.

The other day I was talking with a friend and we were observing how God 
often teaches us in our poverty. When we have no money, He teaches us 
that He is our Provider. When we are in grief, He teaches us that He is 
our joy. When we have no strength, He teaches us that He is God Almighty.

When Assyria invaded Judah, it was like a professional boxer picking a 
fight with a Kindergarten kid. Assyria took city after city until the 
only survivors were a frightened few behind the walls of Jerusalem. Here 
in this place of desperation, God shows up.

Notice what God does. He not only teaches us about Himself, i.e., He 
will save the city. But He also shows us what He wants us to know about 
ourselves. "The Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee." Even 
in our place of great weakness, we are the victors. We are triumphant.

I believe this may be the Lord's word to you today. Life's troubles may 
have overwhelmed you, but you will stand and look in triumph over all 
your foes.

Be encouraged!
Dwight

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