Bethany Bullet - Week of January 17, 2016

The Hereafter, Here and Now: We’re Here Now!”

Text: Isaiah 62:1-5

Through Isaiah God declared that His delight is in His people!  For Israel life had been unsettling, to the extent that some had begun to wonder if God had deserted them or worse yet detested them.  They had gone into exile, and though it was over they had not returned to that Golden Davidic age that most desired!  So, the Lord through His prophet assured them, “My delight is in you!”

Just as true as it was for God’s people back then, it is true for us today!  Like them we live in an unsettling world!  Politically, culturally, morally, economically many would say things aren’t as good as they once were.  As painful as it might be to feel on a national or global level that God has deserted or detested, how much worse on a personal level? 

It doesn’t take communal exile, just being separated from a loved one, from family, from employment, from the feelings of hope and purpose can make one wonder if God has deserted them or worse yet detests them.  To them, to us, to each, God sends the prophet again, “My delight is in you!” we hear Him say.  In Jesus, God has proven that we are His delight.  If that were not the case, our Lord would not have come!

The unsettling world into which He came, is a world that remains unsettling to those for whom He came.  While life can still be unsettling, those who are ‘set’ in Christ have a solid and sturdy foundation.  Those who are ‘set’ in Christ are none others who have heard and believed the word of the Lord, “My delight is in you” and who have in faith spoken His word back to Him and said to the Lord, “My delight is in You.”

-Pastor Kevin Kritzer