Isaiah 49 (HCSB)
The Servant Brings Salvation
1 Coastlands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The Lord called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.
2 He made my words like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel; I will be glorified in him.”
4 But I myself said: I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and futility; yet my vindication is with the Lord, and my reward is with my God.
5 And now, says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him so that Israel might be gathered to Him; for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God is my strength—
6 He says, “It is not enough for you to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says to one who is despised, to one abhorred by people, to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and stand up, and princes will bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel—and He has chosen you.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
I will answer you in a time of favor, and I will help you in the day of salvation. I will keep you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
9 saying to the prisoners: Come out, and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves. They will feed along the pathways, and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.
10 They will not hunger or thirst, the scorching heat or sun will not strike them; for their compassionate One will guide them, and lead them to springs of water.
11 I will make all My mountains into a road, and My highways will be raised up.
12 See, these will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Sinim.
13 Shout for joy, you heavens! Earth, rejoice! Mountains break into joyful shouts! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
Zion Remembered
14 Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me; The Lord has forgotten me!”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you.
16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your builders hurry; those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18 Look up, and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As I live”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“you will wear all your children as jewelry, and put them on as a bride does.
19 For your waste and desolate places and your land marked by ruins—will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Yet as you listen, the children that you have been deprived of will say, ‘This place is too small for me; make room for me so that I may settle.’
21 Then you will say within yourself, ‘Who fathered these for me? I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive, exiled and wandering—but who brought them up? See, I was left by myself—but these, where did they come from?’”
22 This is what the Lord God says:
Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground, and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am Yahweh; those who put their hope in Me will not be put to shame.
24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of the righteous be delivered?
25 For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken, and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered; I will contend with the one who contends with you, and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they will be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. Then all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 3-6): Father, I ask for Your forgiveness in the lifestyle I’ve been leading that does not glorify You. My lifestyle has not been an example of how a faithful servant of Yours should be living. Help me to build up a servant attitude so I may live for You and in Your ways and Your truth, Father. Help me to be more like Jesus and less like me.
PROMISE (verse 7b): You make us two very powerful promises at the end of this verse, Father. The first is that You are faithful. Even in a world with people like me who fall frequently, You say You remain faithful. The second promise You make us here is that You have chosen us; chosen me. How powerful is it that You promise me that I am living a chosen life with an always faithful Father, Lord, and Savior?
ATTITUDE (verse 4): For a long time I have done many things to learn more about You and even helped the church quite a bit. All of that “labor” was in vain, however, because I was not doing it for You; rather I was doing most of it to appease others and for a “good appearance.” Forgive me of this poor attitude towards my walk and journey with You, Father. Help me to change my attitude to be God-focused and God-driven so that my labor is not in vain and my strength is not spent for nothing and futility.
COMMAND (verse 1): This seems to be a recurring theme, Father, so You must be repeating Yourself for stubborn people like me. Once again, You tell us to listen to You and to pay attention to You. When You repeat Yourself this much, that tells me that what You’re saying is extremely important. Help me to listen to You more, Father, and pay attention to Your teachings and conversations with me.
EXAMPLE (verses 3-7): You give such a great example for us to live by here, yet I struggle with this quite a bit. You tell us to live a servant-like life with You as our Master. How simple this is in general, yet so difficult for someone like me who has to be in control. Help me to learn to live a life as Your servant, Father, relinquishing my control to You so that I may glorify You and not myself.
*DAILY NOTE: I’ve been failing at my faith walk with You, Father, for so long. I struggle with not being in control and giving control to others, even You. Help me to learn to be better at the saying “let go and let God” so that I can be better at relinquishing this control that I often “need” to have to You, Father. Thank You for being a perfect Master in my life, Father, even though I have been an extremely rebellious servant oftentimes trying to take on Your Master role.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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