Beauty Invites- Isaiah 35 {Day 3}

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
    and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
    grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

When I am asked for a favorite bible verse, I am slow to answer. An overall favorite? It changes in different seasons…sometimes on different days. Scripture is like that. Alive.

But in the next breath I would tell you that Isaiah 35 is my most read passage. The one I return to over and over. In seasons of joy. In seasons of loss. There is something about the imagery there that gets me in its grasp and won’t let go.

When I read it, everything in me shouts Yes!

The words are so active. Not at all passive.

Rejoice

Burst

Shout

With divine retribution

Leap

Gush

Overtake

Flee

I especially like “and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

Yes.

That day, oh how glorious it will be.

I will see children I never held.

And a dad taken too soon.

And until that day, oh the glimpses we get of it now.

His kingdom come.

It slices through its invisible realm.

My deep desire, to invite it in.

Making more and more room for it now.

The invitation of beauty.

Strong.

Fierce.

Overtaking.

Yes, that’s the beauty I give my all for.

 I am participating in The Nester’s 31 Days of Series. Click right here to see all the amazing topics!  I am writing on 31 Beauty Full Days.  You can read the intro post here.  And you can also always click on the button on the sidebar to see all posts in the series.

Lastly, if you want to receive the series via email, enter your email address in the Subscribe box. Once you do, you will receive a confirmation email and after you verify it, you will start getting them!

Linking with Inspire Me Mondays for the first time!

{top image credit}