For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:24-25.

Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21.

In our chapter, Isaiah 8, there is so much we can learn and it helps to have the commentary below so we don’t miss vital understanding. Prophecy is hard to understand. Creator God – Father…Son…Spirit, is telling Isaiah to show the people what happens when they trust in themselves and others and not in God’s gentle sustaining care. The Lord spoke to me again: “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates – the king of Assyria with all his pomp.” v. 5-7. And this…This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread. He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah He will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall…Bind up this testimony of warning and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding His face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him. Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion. v. 11-14, 16-18. And then, when we refuse to listen to God, when we suffer because of that…we blame God. Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness. v. 20-22.

In reading this, I couldn’t help but think about my own life before drawing near to God. I lived as though He was far away. That was convenient to my wanting to live my way without His seeing. And yet, when need for understanding grew too strong to deny, there was nowhere else for me to turn except to God. And in turning to Him, I now know how very close He is and always has been. How can we not be changed in a walk with Him? I will wait for the Lord…becomes possible because I trust Him for everything. He helps me persevere so I can be with Him now. Almighty God is as real to me as I am. Israel and Judah couldn’t see all that God was doing, but He was working nonetheless. It’s the same today. Be changed within with God’s help and walk in trust with Him and He will give you strength and hope. He will be with you through every trial and need.