Isaiah 12:2-6 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 12:2-6 on biblegateway.com
Verse 2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. Verse 3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Verse 4And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Verse 5Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Verse 6Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Devotion
Isaiah's hymn praises God for saving us from evil and destruction. It also gives us a picture of what happens when we trust God's promises of salvation, allowing them to define who we are.
When we rely on God's promises, we have nothing to fear. Why? Because only God can give us the security we long for, regardless of what happens to us. Wealth, power, reputation — and anything else we put in God's place — cannot do this. Only God's "wells of salvation" are inexhaustible.
Moreover, when we rely on God's "wells of salvation," gratitude and joy expand our horizons. We discover that the God we name and exalt is, indeed, at work throughout the entire world. At the same time, we increasingly recognize that this God is in our midst, creating new life within and around us, and this increases our confidence to call on God amid whatever we are facing.
Prayer
O Holy One, we shout aloud because we know we can call on your name to save us from destruction. We sing for joy because you live in our midst and are continually creating new life within and around us. Amen.