June 22, 2011 New Growth for You

New Growth for You
Read Isaiah 10 – 14

Isa 10:34-11:5 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One. 11:1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD — 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

IN THE late 1980’s Yellowstone National Park suffered a devastating series of fires. It seemed nothing would ever grow in those burned acres again.
In the 1990’s, I often traveled to Yellowstone. Through the decade, I saw that, incredibly, the fire gave new trees the opportunity to grow. Seeds lay dormant in the ground until the fire. They needed the heat of a fire to activate them. God’s marvelous creation provided the natural world with a way of “salvation” in the midst of destruction. By 2000 new life had triumphed over the death. New young trees were filling the burned areas.
Isaiah’s imagery is similar. The nation is pictured as a forest, and God cuts it down because the forest is overgrown with sin. Then out of the nearly empty forest comes God’s new life. Isaiah 11 is about new growth, new life, and salvation. Out of God’s purifying judgment will come God’s own Son to bear the fruit of life from the ashes of destruction.
Thank God today for his Son. His judgment teaches you his truth. His salvation saves you for life with him forever.


Pause and Consider: God’s eternal restoring actions.