Isaiah 35
Scripture
Isaiah 35:1-2a
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
Observation - What does it say?
What a wonderful and hope inspiring passage! Isaiah shifts from declaring the gloom and doom awaiting Edom and the wicked nations to painting this beautiful picture of the absolute paradise awaiting God’s redeemed people. Where Edom’s prosperity and thriving will be turned into a wilderness, God’s people’s desert places will be turned into a lush garden as God comes to save them.
Understanding - What does it mean?
Paradise awaits God’s people. When he comes to save his people, weakness, fear, sickness and handicaps, depression, predators and sorrow will vanish instantly! God has a way of causing dry and deserted places to burst into bloom.
The word that caught my attention was burst. When God encountered me that morning I woke up on the ranch, joy and love and peace burst into full bloom in my heart. When the church was small in number and isolated to the upper room, Christ-like ministry burst into bloom as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them. When Jesus shows up, when the Holy Spirit is poured out, when God moves on the heart of a person, new life bursts into bloom! There is immediate and complete life change!
Zechariah 4:6b
'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
We find ourselves longing for change in people, situations, relationships, sin struggles and physical health. The solution often isn’t that we try harder but that we seek God. Only by his Spirit do we see genuine, lasting change and new life!
One moment of God’s favor yields far more than years of hard labor.
Life Application