Will

This morning upon waking up, nay, this afternoon when I got out of bed, I did the daily toiletries. Afterward, I decided to dive into my Bible for some devotional time and to pray about my concerns. I opened my large-print silver-edge-paged New International Version Bible and hit an article about Isaiah 53. My Bible is a study Bible so it has articles written about passages and major topics found there. Instead of reading the article, I turned back one page to Isaiah 53 itself and began to read. As I read, I felt so much joy and inspiration from the chapter that my eyes grew wider and wider, gobbling it all up. What happens in Isaiah 53? Well, you're about to find out if you don't already know!

1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53 is written by the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament, way before Jesus time. Yet, how is it that every verse is about Jesus? Simple, his prophecy came from the word of God. While reading this (Haven't read it yet? Here's your chance; just look above!), every consequent verse seemed to cry out at me how amazing God was and how splendid it was that every word of this prophecy came true with His son Jesus Christ. At the same time, I realized how deep and how wide God was, in a whole new way. That His will could shine all the way from the time of Isaiah to the time of the disciples and the apostles of Jesus. He is just so perfect, so everlasting, so divinely beautiful that my heart burned reading this passage.

Will you go to the homecoming dance with me? Will you write me a postcard? Will you visit me? Will you come help out at the event tonight? All of these are earthly wills used in different context, but when it comes to God's will, it is all-encompassing. In verses 10-12 the word "will" is used about nine times. To me this feels like a depiction of how God's will in that time for Jesus was revealed to be whole and complete when Jesus was born. Am I the only one amazed by this? Isn't it also glorious to be thinking these thoughts when Christmas is right around the corner on Thursday? Yes, yes it is! To praise God's eternal will for the procession of time and to truly pray that you are submitting to that will, rather than trying to carve your own in this world.

I pray that you have a merry Christmas!