Hmmmmmm my God is good.

so i've been slowly working my way through the Bible - slowly is an understatement. I've been reading for a year and I'm about halfway through Isaiah, haha, but it's been good.

so God's been teaching me stuff this past week and i get excited about it you know? here's some cool stuff from this week:

On worship:

Isaiah 29:13 - "The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.' "
These rules of men:
Isaiah 28:10 - "For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there."

when God meant for it to be rest -
Isaiah 28:12 - "to whom He said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and, "This is the place of repose" - but they would not listen."

Isaiah 30:15 - "This is what the Sovereign LORD (Yahweh), the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.' "

on trust:
Isaiah 28:16 - "So this is what the Sovereign LORD (Yahweh) says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.'"
-- this is Jesus. God's measuring line is justice - His plumb line is righteousness (28:17) - on my own I fall short, but Jesus, when Jesus is my foundation, His righteousness, His justice - covers me. He's sure, He's tested, He's precious. The cornerstone, for which the whole structure relies on to keep it standing, keep it from falling apart - that's Him.

Isaiah 26:3-4 - "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD (Yahweh) forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal."
Isaiah 25:9 - "In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him and He saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.'"

on being poor and needy:
Isaiah 25:4 - "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat."
Isaiah 29:19 - "Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel."

on who my God is:
Isaiah 25:1 - "O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."
Isaiah 25:6-8 - "On this mountain, the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine - the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken."
Isaiah 28:5-6 - "In that day, the LORD Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of His people. He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate (the most vulnerable part of the wall)."
Isaiah 28:29 - "All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom."
Isaiah 30:18 - "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!"
Isaiah 30:19 - "O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you."
Isaiah 30:26 - "The moon will shine like the sun and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of His people and heals the wounds He inflicted."

The goodness of the Lord is magnified in light of my rebelliousness and disobedience. I am an obstinate little Israel most of the time - to the point where, like them, I say "stop confronting [me] with the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 30:11)" sometimes. I am the one who has turned things upside down - who forgets that the Lord is my Creator - that He is God and I am not. that He knows better than I do, that He's enough - I don't have to add or take away from anything He's done.

Isaiah 29:16 - "You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"?"

No. My God is perfect. He is Sovereign. He knows me, He longs to be gracious towards me.

I am my Beloved's and He is mine.
<3