Welcome to day 23 of our 40 day challenge! Today, we are in Isaiah 65

(You can catch up on our Intro, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22 if you missed them)

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷ “See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

²⁰ “Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.
²¹ They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
the work of their hands.
²³ They will not labor in vain,
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,
they and their descendants with them.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

---

We have good to look forward to. The story gets gnarly sometimes, often even, but every generation of people who seek God, knows that good awaits. The battle between good and evil right now is harrowing, but good is in store for us. Amen, and selah.

Much of spiritual life is recognizing which stage of the world we’re in, trying not to lose hope, and hoping for the time when things are put right. All of this while doing all we can to bring God’s Kingdom everywhere we go.

It’s a really nice thought for today. Maybe too good to imagine even, with all that’s going on. The wolf and the lamb lying together sounds particularly magical, and I’d settle for just the humans who act like wolves to be safe around those they think of as lambs. So we look forward to the Lord making all things new.

Lord, may your kingdom come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you tomorrow for Day 24, in John 9

♥ Samantha