The Beauty of Walking with Jesus: Steps Through Isaiah 55:8-13
The truth is, that for as long as I can remember, I’ve been watching Isaiah 55:8-13 unfold before my very eyes.
For while lies from the enemy have assaulted me at every twist and turn, and done their darnedest to convince me that God is, in fact, not good, the victorious power of the Gospel actively transforming my life has begged a different story.
Before we take any steps further, allow me too share the incredible value of truth found in the passage at play with you, Isaiah 55:8-13—
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
It opens with a line proclaiming that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours—a line that, if spoken by another human, might come off arrogant or overtly offensive. But, when referring to the mind of God, can only be received in humility as an obvious and necessary truth.
God is God, and we are not. And praise be. Because not only is God higher than we are, but better than we could ever begin to fathom.
The power we are submitting our lives to is the greatest force of love that ever existed: the author of life itself, and the provider of all things good and beautiful. (Exodus 20:6, James 1:17, John 10:10, Hebrews 12:12, Genesis 1:31, 1 John 4:8)
I love the way this passage from Isaiah carries on, describing the words that flow from the mouth of this High and Mighty God: it says they go forward, accomplishing what he desires.
And to circle back to what exactly it is that God desires, may we always remember that what God desires is good.
That when he sent Jesus to the cross, he did it out of his steadfast and abundant love (even for the sinner), for the salvation of the weak and hopeless, and to hold out a cosmic and generous hand for anyone who turns to take hold of it. (John 3:16-17)
As God’s word goes forward, it accomplishes what he desires. I remember the first time I caught a glimpse of God’s will—what makes God happy—in Ephesians 1. It says this:
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV
God’s will for us is that we be adopted to sonship through Jesus Christ. It pleased him to do this. Isaiah 53:10 puts it a little more graphically, as this passage of Scripture in the Old Testament prophesies about Jesus coming to save us from our sins:
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. Isaiah 53:10 NIV
The suffering of Jesus was tragic, and yet, for what it produced, the Father was unwilling to spare it. For us.
We can trust his heart for us. It’s more beautiful that we could ever imagine.
As Isaiah 55:8-13 goes on from describing God’s word going out to accomplish his will (our salvation), it continues to use the most whimsical metaphors to help our human minds grasp all that this entails. We simply must revisit it:
Isaiah 55:12-13a—
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow…
As God’s word, will, and purposes permeate our lives, the result is a being led forth in joy and peace. It reminds me of a child being led forth by the hand of a parent who has long-shown their loving desire to bless their child with goodness.
This passage describes the mountains and hills bursting into songs before the one who is the Lord’s. And honestly? This feels like exactly what my life with the Lord has entailed:
I feel like with Jesus, the lights turned on. Like my life used to be lived in black and white, but the more I walk with him, the more colorful my life becomes. I have eyes to see that places which used to look like just sweeping hills of green actually have variety, and depth, and life tucked into every square inch.
I didn’t have eyes to see the wildflowers all around me, and not only that, but I’m also able to take in—by the power of His Spirit—the new life he is springing up in every moment.
He’s the author of life! If only we might receive him!
He is merciful to do this. To take the weedy barrenness of our lives before him and trade us grace, beauty, and abundance.
He sees our thornbushes, and throws us flowers. He sees our briers, and brings us blooms.
It has to be exclaimed: there has never been anyone better than Him!
And that’s exactly the thing—his mercy isn’t purposeless. The natural result of receiving a mercy so steadfast as his, is praise.
If you read through the rich and beautiful passage of Ephesians 1:3-14, you’ll see that while the author Paul describes all of our incredible spiritual blessings in Christ, the line appears multiple times that God did these things “to the praise of his glory”.
The glory of God is his true character, his true nature, and his true goodness: shown in the utmost by the person of Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:15, John 1:18)
And who he is, results in his renown, or his remembrance. His fame.
…This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.” Isaiah 55:13b
The goodness that God imbues our lives with shows all of existence who He Is. We, in Christ, are living, breathing, walking, moving testimonies of the goodness of God.
Praise him forever!
I created a gigantic painting to capture the essence of this passage: God’s heart of goodness and his ability to de-weed our lives of sin and imbue our lives with goodness as we walk with him. Even capturing the way he leads us on this garden walk all the way into eternity! Please visit the shop for prints of this image, or even the original for as long as it’s available!
