Isaiah 51

As I posted earlier, I've been living in Isaiah for a while now as far as my own devotion time goes. One of the things that always amazes me about Isaiah 40-66 is how much emphasis there is on God as the creator. Over and over again God proclaims himself the creator or Isaiah extols him as the creator or one or the other of them lays down the distinction between God, the true creator, and idols, who are pretty much created by a craftsman. There's a lot of responsibility that gets laid at God's feet, being the creator and all (see Isaiah 47, for instance).

But the other day when I reread Isaiah 51, I was blown away by the way God wants to re-create us when we are damaged, worn down, beat up, sin-stressed, or otherwise hurt. Take a look at verse 3, for example:

The LORD will surely comfort Zion
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
her wastelands like the garden of the LORD.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

God is speaking here to people who have lost everything, and he says that into their desert, into their barrenness, he will create anew the garden of Eden. He's using Genesis the way we've been using Genesis. He's saying, "It's YOUR story. I'm going to create you anew, and just like the world was fresh and clean and verdant and glorious, so will you be."

So guess what? If this is you, see what God wants to do?