Thursday, September 25, 2014

Delightful!

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations."
(Isaiah 42:1)

We all love being told we're special and beloved.  It doesn't happen that frequently - even by people we know love us deeply (let's change that!).  So when we are given that gift of grace, it's such a blessing.

In the book of ISAIAH, there are four passages known as the "servant songs."  In general, Isaiah speaks of the nation of Israel as a whole - when they're at their very best.  But it can also be a prophetic voice for a specific person (or persons), like Jesus (or other significant spiritual leaders).  That's usually how the modern-day church reads them.

Yet here in chapter 42, as we encounter the very first of the servant songs, we get such a warm & accepting intro: "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights."  How cool is that?!?!  What a wonderful gift to be told that by God.  That we're "chosen" & that God "delights" in us!

Thinking about the grand sweep of scripture, God does delight in us!  But not because we've done anything special or earned God's favor in any way.  We are beloved because that's how God is wired. That's how God "rolls"!  He has put his spirit within us.  We are delight-full!  Now let's live like it.

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