The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. 2 Corinthians 13:13 NRSV.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1.

This life that we live is filled with choices and those choices can lead to great pain. And once we have trod them we can’t unlive the experiences of them. Oh, how I wish I could. And what does Creator God…Father…Son…Spirit, tell us? Come to Him in faith and trust that He is the I Am. He knows the pain of wrong choices. He knows every hurt that we have suffered. Only He can bring healing to hearts and minds wounded and afraid. I have sinned. I have caused harm to others. I have caused harm to myself. And He is here. And in His love I find peace and strength and hope. So can you.

This chapter, Isaiah 11, is a chapter of hope so beautiful we cannot imagine it fully being. God speaks what will be. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of His people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. v. 1-11.

They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Can you imagine? Not just the nature of the animals, but our hearts and minds as well will be healed from all the harm and destruction we have suffered and have given. We are broken and vulnerable from our lack of knowing God and His love for us. And we have broken others in our zeal. One day no one will harm or destroy anymore. Hope. Promise. Come boldly to the throne of grace and know that God loves you. He will heal the pain and bring you His peace.