“I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. The sounds of violence will never be heard in your land again. Ruin and destruction will not happen within your borders. The walls of your city will be Salvation and your gates Praise. (pp Isa.60:17-18)
Lord Jesus, we are SO ready for the reality described in these verses to be our government, geography, and grace. How long before there are no more warring nations or even wagging tongues—no abuses of power or abuse in any form? When will every expression of fight, flight, and freeze be replaced with reconciliation, renewal, and righteousness? The eternal Day when we will only have healthy, caring, kind, relationships?
Jesus, we yearn for the Day when peace will be our Premier, grace will be our governor, mercy will be our Prime Minister, kindness will be our King, love will be our Leader—for that will be the Day you return to finish making all things new and beautiful (Rev.21:1-5). How soon can you possibly make this happen, Lord?
Until then free us to live by the Gospel not by the sword, by the way of your cross not by the ways of mere men, by faith in you not our fears within. Though it’s not apparent to the naked, unrenewed, grace-lite eye—you are already ruling the world with your truth and grace. You are sovereign over kings and catastrophes, all our children and every cancer, eternal election and the mid-term elections too, today’s sorrows and tomorrow’s “Hallelujah’s!”
May the Gospel be more precious to us than ever. May “faith expressing itself in love” be our default and delight mode. May your Spirit produce such an abundance of kindness and gentleness in us it will shock even us. May loving you be our highest priority and loving others be its clearest overflow. So Very Amen.
