Secure and Stable

"Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.
"For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.
- Isaiah 54:4-8

 The unbelievable truth and love found in these verses overwhelms me. It speaks right to my core in so many ways! My guess is that everyone reading this has some sort of deep rooted fear of the same thing... rejection. I absolutely hate that word! Another guess is that most of us desire marriage so much that it hurts! My last guess is that we have all made some really bad mistakes that we regret and continue to beat ourselves up about. Have I hit a nerve yet? Thank God that v.4 says we don't have to fear rejection and shame! He knows our fears. And He knows that because of sin, rejection is bound  to happen. What we forget, though, is that we are fiercely and passionately loved! We all have things from our past that still haunt us; some more than others. Hurts, wrongs, sins... we can't seem to let go. So, we protect ourselves. Our defense mechanisms kick in. We push people away, run to things that won't satisfy, or we try to do enough good to make up for it. But God says that if we turn to him, we will forget the shame of our youth. Thank goodness he is a God who only lets us wander so far before, "with deep compassion," He brings us back! And as for those things we run to instead of him - they never seem to fill us. The security that we so desire only ebbs and flows.
  But there is hope! We can have real security that is always stable! It is constant, no matter what. He says, "Your Maker is your husband - the Lord Almighty is his name... Your Redeemer!" He provides for us. Our stability and security are found in Him alone! Let Him be that security that you crave. Let him be that today! Let Him satisfy those desires that never seem to go away. Ask Him. Keep asking and see what happens! And don't be afraid to receive!