Above and Beyond

"I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to them, creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace to those far and near, says the Lord. And I will heal them."

Isaiah 57:18-19

This morning as I read about God's compassion towards Israel and his great patience with their wayward hearts, I was moved to think that he still longed for wholeness for his people. That he wasn't done with them in spite of their habitual rebellion. He not only saves them from their own self destruction, but promises to heal, restore comfort, grant peace, and guide them. Talk about going above and beyond.

And while he was the God of the Israelites thousands of years ago as described by Isaiah, he is also my God, with the same olive branch extended -- ready to heal, eager to restore, providing the way. I texted a portion of these verses to my friend, Kristen, earlier. A young, beautiful, single mom, recently diagnosed with MS. Faced with many overwhelming circumstances at once, this promise in Isaiah is hers. Healing will come as will comfort and guidance from a God tender enough to be involved in her details.

May his guidance, peace, and healing be evident to each of us today -- finding us marked by this backwards, compelling God and ready to restore.

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for thy courts above.

I mean, what if?