Bride of Christ

You are bursting with the news.

You are going to be a bride! And your groom is simply wonderful! You were made for each other!

But. Why does there always have to be a but?

You have no idea when the wedding will be. And it’s out of your hands.

Rather discouraging, don’t you think? And it makes it that much harder to prepare yourself for the big day, when you have no idea when it is going to happen.

If it’s going to happen.

You feel forgotten.

This is the emotion we find in Isaiah 49.

Read Isaiah 49:1-14

I find such sweetness every time I read a verse like verse 7, especially the last phrase.

⁷ The Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,  to the one who is the servant of rulers:“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.    Princes will also bow low because of the Lord, the faithful one,    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” NLT

Ladies, He has chosen you. This verse was spoken to His people Israel, but is applicable because God has chosen us as His bride, too.

Continue reading, and you will see the promise of love, honor and protection. Even provision of a Beautiful Land. What more could a girl ask for? (Or, nation, rather.)

But then after all these sweet vows, what does the bride do? She sticks out her lips in a pout, and says,

¹⁴ Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us;    the Lord has forgotten us.” NLT

Really?

But then, haven’t we all done that? How many times (per day?) do we see some hardship, or something that doesn’t go our way, and we automatically jump to the conclusion that God must not care about us, or He wouldn’t have let that happen.
Perhaps He’s trying to mold His bride into who she needs to be.

Look at verse 8 before we move on.

⁸ “At just the right time, I will respond to you.” NLT

Other versions say ‘I will hear and answer you.’ God knows what just the right time is; to answer our prayers and to act on our behalf. Trust Him, sweet thing. He will not leave you hanging.

Read verses 15-21, looking especially at 15-16 for now.

¹⁵ “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?    Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?But even if that were possible,    I would not forget you!¹⁶ See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.    Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.” NLT

I love these. I will not forget you! See I have written your name on the palms of My hands. One version compares this to a tattoo. I also really like verse 16 in the King James Version,

¹⁶ "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands" KJV emphasis mine.

This isn't even just your name, but a whole picture of you! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty foolish at this point for ever even thinking that God may have forgotten me. Because isn't this what His love looks like when we are graven on His hands?

For the last part of verse 16, read this from a commentary by David Guzik source

Your walls are continually before Me: The walls refer to the walls of the city of Jerusalem, which figuratively speak of the health, the strength, the prosperity, and the security of God’s people. God is always mindful of the condition of His people, despite the objections of a doubting Zion.

God is always always mindful of your condition. He knows that your heart is breaking. He knows what you’re going through. He even knows that you might still be miffed about spilling your coffee. He cares about you so much, dear one.

See verses 17-21 God is telling His people of how extensively He vows to fulfill His promise. He is promising to bring His people back from exile, and says, in effect, ‘There will be so many of you you’re not going to have room for everyone!’

It reminds me of Malachi 3:10

“…I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in…” NLT

In verse 21 it tells us Israel will say to herself, ‘but God had abandoned me… so where did all these people come from?’

Sister, we know the answer. God did not abandon Israel like they thought. God has not abandoned you. He was there all along.

Verses 23 and 26 tell us why.

^23b “…Then you will know that I am the Lord.    Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”^26b “…All the world will know that I, the Lord,    am your Savior and your Redeemer,    the Mighty One of Israel.”

That all the world may know that He is LORD.

Amen!