Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Woe to the SINFUL nation, a people whose GUILT is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to CORRUPTION! They have FORSAKEN the Lord; they have SPURNED the Holy One of Israel and TURNED THEIR BACKS on him. Why should you be BEATEN anymore? Why do you PERSIST IN REBELLION? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness— only WOUNDS and WELTS and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil.

Contrasting verses:
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ (Emphasis mine)
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I SOUGHT the Lord, and he ANSWERED me; he DELIVERED me FROM all my FEARS. Those who LOOK TO HIM are RADIANT; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he SAVED him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord ENCAMPS around those who fear him, and he DELIVERS them. TASTE AND SEE that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes REFUGE in him.

This past Sunday, I listened as our pastor talked about the message he would preach on sexual immorality. We prayed for him and God’s message of purity and the covenant of marriage (between a man and a woman), which builds the family unit. And we discussed the confusion in our world and the way sin perverts God’s best for us.
Then, as I went up to pray in the sanctuary, this banner came to my mind:
“Bruised and Beaten Souls Searching for Healing and Rest”.

I then started to look up Bible verses to write down that I can focus on while praying for others (this is my Sunday custom). I opened my Bible and the first passage I turned to was the Isaiah 1 passage. And as you can see, it is full of descriptors (I capitalized them) that describe the above banner God put in my mind. I envisioned souls moving around in space, directionless, and getting hit by all manner of offensive weapons (the sins of this world). They were bruised and beaten.

Then God put on my mind the passage in Psalm 34. It is a psalm about the poor man who searches for God. He praises God in the midst of the highs and lows of life. He calls out to his fellow brothers and sisters who are afflicted: “Rejoice and Glorify the Lord with me! Let us Extol his name together!” To some this may seem strange. They might rather curse the Lord for their afflictions than praise him. But this man then states the results of his praise and worship of a Holy God: He is Delivered & Fearless, Radiant & Shame-free, Saved From All His Troubles, God’s Angels Encamp Around Him, and He Can TASTE the Goodness of The Lord. The Lord is his Refuge!

This contrast is the difference between the person who knows about God, but remains in the driver’s seat of their life; and the person who is sold out for God, no matter what happens in life — God is their Master, he is their Lord.

One is the place of sin and worldliness people come from. The other is the place of healing and rest I purpose my life to lead people into.

Do you know this HEALING and REST in your life? Have you given the reigns of your heart to Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If not, “Taste and See” that the Lord is good. He will not disappoint you. Your life will be the craziest adventure and the awesomest ride, because God will have you doing things way beyond your ability on your own — that matter for eternity!

Lord, thank you that you have given me new life in you! I am no longer loaded down with guilt, ashamed, fearful, beaten up and bruised by this world. I have hidden my heart in you. Make me more and more effective at joining you in rescuing others from the sins of Isaiah 1, into the joys of life with you, described in Psalm 34. The rewards of seeing just one person saved into your grace are so great, and so much more valuable than anything this world could offer me!