June 22, 2015: Isaiah 49:1-6

Isaiah 49:1-6

Listen to me, O coastlands,
    pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
    while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
² He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
    in his quiver he hid me away.
³ And he said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain,
    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
    and my reward with my God.”

⁵ And now the Lord says,
    who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
    and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
    and my God has become my strength—
⁶ he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
    to raise up the tribes of Jacob
    and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
    that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Reflection:

In the Methodist church, we love prevenient grace.  Such a fancy word for grace. This lets us know that we mean that God gave us love before we are aware of it. In other words, we did nothing and God gave us grace.  As we read this passage, this is what came to mind to me.  As we are created in our mother's womb, God is already at work.  God is caring for us.  We may not always know how to respond and aren't sure of how to live into this grace. That's ok because God goes before us. 

Reflection Question:

Morning: Where have you seen God working in your life before you?

Noon:  What's your emotion in knowing that God is loving you before you are aware?

Evening: How might we show this kind of love to our neighbor?