Chapters oh His Heart: Isaiah 14

Beyond Enough

Lets start by reading Isaiah 14 here.
If you have been following Isaiah so far you will know that Israel has done everything BUT follow the Lord. They have turned their backs and completely walked away from God. After all that, after being betrayed by the people He loved the very most, this is what Isaiah says of the Lord:

"He will choose Israel as his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land."

He STILL chose Israel. After everything, God still loved Israel. God still chose them. How merciful is our God! Love we can not understand. Forgiveness that will never be reproduced on this earth by any man. When God loves someone He deeply loves them, and He never stops loving them. Ever.
When we think we have reached the point of being unlovable how relieving is it to find God waiting with open arms. Our choices, our mess ups and mistakes can not shake the purpose of the Lord. How vain is it for us to think that our decisions are capable of altering the purpose of our lives as set forth by God.

Not only did the Lord have mercy on Israel, He showed them kindness. God didn't stop with forgiveness and acceptance, which would have been enough, He pushed deeper and reached farther. God passed up "enough" and went straight on to "more than we deserve", that's just how He works. He loved them so much that He couldn't leave them in their self-made oppression. He brought them home. The people of Israel had been captive and made slaves, but the Lord had other plans. Those who had taken His people captive would in turn be made Israel's slaves. The oppressors made slaves of the oppressed. Verses 24-27 are addressed to the Assyrians, the people who had captured Israel. The Lord declares that they will be broken of their hold on his people. These verses contain a powerful reminder to us of God's authority and power. No one can move the hand of God once it is set forth. One version says this:

"It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided... The Lord of Heaven's armies has spoken, who can change His plans? When His hand is raised, who can stop Him?"

Another version says:

"Surely , as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand... For the Lord of Hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?"

What a reminder! When you feel captive, to whatever it may be, fear, guilt, depression, loneliness, remember... you are the Lord's, the precious one He loves and He has a purpose for you. Nothing the world can send your way, nothing the enemy can blind you with, nothing is to big, to strong, or to deep that the power of our God can not pervade. When the Lord has purposed something, when he has set His hand to something, nothing and no one can turn Him back. His purpose will always shine through, His hand will always hold strong. He is God, the plans of His heart are not just to give us enough, but to give us more than we deserve.