“Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights…
“Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
‘I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them….’
“And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:1a,5-9,16
The almighty God not only helps His children, He instills hope and purpose that put His help to use. He undertakes for His own for a reason, that we might serve Him. We’re chosen and delighted in as His beloved children, and given breath and light to share His truth wherever we’re planted. He takes us new places and to people we have not known, steers us aright, and determines the way for us to spread the hope of His name and salvation.
When the Lord meets us to bring us out of old places of stagnation and bad habits, or former places of doubt and distress, He walks us into new opportunities of service and spreading hope. He has ministered to us that we might minister to others as a conduit of His Spirit. When we gratefully take on identity as His servant, we expectantly proceed as He faithfully guides. (Isaiah 60:1; Matthew 5:14-16; 2 Corinthians 1:3-6
Where specifically are we going forth in the hope we’ve received? Into what relationships, tasks, service, ministries is divine purpose leading our steps? What new things is God directing us to seize and utilize? What injury suffered, illness borne, ability restored, resource endowed, is He urging us to carry forward and put to work for Him? What difference are we making at home, work, church, and community with the bounty God’s entrusted to us?
“Awake, my soul, and with the sun
thy daily stage of duty run;
shake off dull sloth, and early rise
to pay thy morning sacrifice.
Lord, I my vows to Thee renew.
Disperse my sins as morning dew;
guard my first springs of thought and will;
and with Thyself my spirit fill.
Direct, control, suggest, this day,
all I design or do or say,
that all my pow’rs, with all their might,
in Thy sole glory may unite.” ~Thomas Ken (1695)
Father, You have given so much. Teach me good stewardship and bold living as I carry the help and hope You’ve so graciously bestowed to a needy world.
As the rain and snow 