“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.” Isaiah 35:4, KJV.
This is the Word of God, King James Version where some words are spelled differently today. But recompense has the same strong meaning according to an old Webster’s definition: REC’OMPENSE, verb transitive
1. To compensate; to make return of an equivalent for any thing given, done or suffered; as, to recompense a person for services, for fidelity or for sacrifices of time, for loss or damages.
Do you believe God’s word? Many can say, “Yes, God I do.”
But it seems this world has become a wilderness.
As the busy-ness takes our eyes away from the Mount on which we must look to for courage and hope.
Isolated, yet surrounded by voices everywhere, our eyes are not up – but looking about as if on a fairground, we in turn feel barren and alone, even dry and parched as a desert place.
There are enemies of God. The foes of God are many. They are loud. They lie. They murder. They deceive. They manipulate. They hate behind smiling faces.
Followers of God are to hate only one thing: “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9.
But what are the children to do? They are lied to continuously. The children of this world are being taught that loss, suffering, sickness, and pain come from a ‘hard-hearted’ God, and it’s all His fault. Or they prove God is ‘dead’ over and over inside their heads.
Anger abounds in the hearts of the children of the world. The anger has brought on violence and fear and strife and tears.
The thirsting of the people have cause them to seek all else but God.
But Your Word, You – Who are from the Beginning, the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, call Your children to You softly,… :
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3.
“I will speak comfort, and courage, and hope. I will enlighten the darkness of each day. Will you hear My words? Right now? This day?
Then you may think for yourselves instead of following the crowd. That you might help lift others out of the pit they are in, or perhaps offer living waters to those who are thirsty and be a friend. Call to Me, I am love. I am here, I alone, am good. Search my Word, discover hope for yourself and breathe:”
I do not come with the pointing finger. I do not accuse and condemn. That is the job of My enemy. Hear My Words and stop listening to him:”
“Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.[a]
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
Isaiah 35:3-9, NIV.
This is the Word of God. These aren’t some pretty words for some far away future heaven – these words breathe a reality of peace in the midst of the sorrow, in the midst of the fight.
Jesus is an ever present help in times of trouble. He is the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5.
“Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” Romans 12:9, NLT.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14.
‘Full of grace and truth …’ hold tightly to Me. I am Jesus. ‘Be strong and don’t be afraid.’ I am your Savior:
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:10, NIV.