Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. Isaiah 38:17

Behold
This is a lightbulb word.
The moment when everything made sense.

It was for my welfare that I had great bitterness
God redeemed the bitter times, the anguish, the sorrow.
He turned it to peace, to a lesson, to growth and strength.

But in love
Contrasting the bitterness and hard times,
God intervenes in love, His great love for us.

You have delivered my life from the pit of destruction
God’s love works itself out in grace and mercy.
He prevents us from receiving what we should.

For you have cast all my sins behind your back.
Cast means thrown, hard, far away.
God has thrown our sins out of sight and out of mind.

Read it again if you need to.
Let it sink in.
Behold!

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

We have discussed perfect peace, shalom, in previous posts.
Let me quote one. Shalom encompasses all of the following:

An end to enmity with God and a restoration of the relationship.
Relief from wondering where we stand before God.
Calm reassurance in the most trying circumstances.
Dissipation of fear.
Harmony in our relationships with those around us.
Stillness in the midst of the noise of the world.
A foretaste of eternal rest that awaits us.
A confident knowledge that it is complete and irrevocable.

Isaiah affirms that the LORD Himself will keep us in that state of shalom,
No matter what enemies rage around us
Not because we earned it, or because we deserve it
But because of our resolute, single-minded trust in Him.

LORD help us keep our minds stayed on you.

P.S. This entire chapter is a song of praise to God. If you have a couple of extra minutes, I encourage you to read the rest.

P.P.S. This is one of the first verses my son memorized. He had hand motions to go with it.

The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. Isaiah 14:24

Some context.
Assyria was threatening.
They were belligerent, powerful, and merciless.

Naturally, the people wanted to hear from God.
They needed encouragement and reassurance
So they looked to the prophet, Isaiah.

Isaiah speaks these words in a message
About the destruction of the enemy of His people
That is, the destruction of Babylon.

But what has that got to do with Assyria?
The destruction of Babylon is two hundred years in the future.
How did that help with the problem the people were facing at that moment?

Well, if God is explaining how He has solved problems
So far in the future
The people don’t even know they are going to be problems…

He has already dealt with their future issues.
Planned and purposed.
It shall be. It shall stand.

So He surely knows and has a plan for today.
Not just for the people of Judah and Jerusalem,
He has planned and purposed for us as well.

Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18

Come.
The sovereign LORD
The creator of the universe
Invites us.

He takes the initiative.
Our redemption is His idea.
He sees our need.
He sees our powerlessness.

But He treats us with such dignity
That He invites us into a dialogue.
He elevates us with an offer.
“Let’s sit down and talk.”

His boundless grace
His limitless mercy
His unfailing love
Are contained in that single, simple word

Come.

How can we refuse His invitation?