A Dark Day

“This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’ who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.” ’   Isaiah 44:24-28

“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.   Isaiah 55:8-11

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 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. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.   Isaiah 53:4-11

today was a dark day;

rainy and cloudy,

windy and cold;

gloomy and sinister;

I felt like there was

something I needed to do,

but I didn’t know what,

sometimes it feels

as though this is the

story of my life;

dark days and

not knowing what

to do;

I saw a specialist yesterday

about my herniated disk,

he suggested trying a nerve block

to relieve the pain,

he doesn’t know if it will work,

but it beats the alternatives,

so I’m going to go with it;

I watched a show about Hitler

on the military channel,

about his rise to power

and the extraordinary events

which made it possible,

it almost seemed supernatural,

which of course it was;

monsters like him only exist

because God allows it;

while watching the thought occurred,

perhaps his whole purpose was

to put the Jewish people

through a great refining trial,

a test,

before being allowed

to return to their ancient homeland,

it made me wonder if perhaps,

the whole purpose of America

becoming a nation,

was to make it possible

for Hitler’s eventual defeat,

and pave the way

for God’s chosen people

to return to their promised land,

just like perhaps,

the purpose of the Roman Empire,

was to create the circumstances

through which prophecy was fulfilled,

concerning the Messiah suffering and being

put to death, and the news of His resurrection

being spread through the known world of the time,

by the technology of Roman roads

and transportation systems;

perhaps?

of course, I’m sure

scholars and experts,

much wiser than I,

would disagree and laugh at such a notion,

but then it wouldn’t be the first time,

God has used seemingly

unrelated and unimaginable plans,

to confound the wise and knowledgeable;

would it?

who would have thought

that a rag-tag band of uneducated,

fishermen and peasants,

would confound and confuse

the wise men of their day,

witnessing and testifying

to the greatest event

in the history of mankind?

who could have imagined it?

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