Laboring

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 42:16-17NIV I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.

THOUGHT: There is a strange, unGodlike metaphor just before this passionate promise. In verse 14. God says, “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.”

Labor is no fun, and you can’t simply turn back when the going gets rough. But out of God’s passion, he comes forth with this: He will become the eyes for his servants who cannot see – he will lead and not forsake. Like babies, they will need a parent. The way will be unfamiliar – their comfort zones will not exist. Where they have been satisfied in their small, darkened world, light will wake them up and show them truth. They will learn to trust. God has spoken and he can only labor forward.

But for those who trust in their own means-to-an-end, there is a way backward, and God says they will take it, completely ashamed, unable or unwilling to trust the God who leads, turning darkness into light.

PRAYER: Why you labor over us so is truly a mystery, God. But great love is born from labor and we your children are grateful. We turn from any idol calling us backwards, turning instead toward you and your great mercy.