Who is it we depend on? Who is it that we look to
for comfort, strength, assurance, direction, provision? As a wife, I confess to
an ease with which I am able to lay all of the above (and more!) firmly at the
feet of my husband. As wonderful as he is, it isn’t long before this dependance
on my husband leads me to become more than a little ‘unstuck’.
This chapter depicts so strongly the intimate
relationship between God and his people.
“ For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you back from your grief – as
though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband.” (NLT)
Israel was created to be in an intimate
relationship with the Creator of the Universe and in Isaiah 54 we see that
despite the rebellion and apathy displayed by the people towards God for much
of Israel’s history – He is not letting go.
And here we are, God’s people in 2012, created to
be in an intimate relationship with our Redeemer.
“For the mountains may move and the hills
disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain.”
Why like Israel, do I look elsewhere for that
which only God can provide? Has God not shown me time and again His
faithfulness and love? Today, as I reflect on this passage, I simply pray for
more intimacy with my Creator, to walk hand in hand with Him, to become more
like Him, to delight in the fulfilment and peace that can only be found in Him.
(member of the
congregation)