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Daily Devotion: Isaiah 37:31-32

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Isaiah 37:31-32     "And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:  (32)  For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this."

I would like to expand on yesterday's devotion.  Struggles always have a beginning and an ending. The obvious reaction is to the beginning and the duration of any struggle or situation that we are called upon to endure. It is sometimes difficult to think about the light at the end of the tunnel when we are in the middle of the darkness. God was telling the people through His Prophet Isaiah that there would be an end to the development. There will be those who escape and there will be those who "take root downward, and bear fruit upward."

I would like to think about that remnant and their outlook on life. Too often, we see and hear of those who try to run away from God when things are rough in their lives. They seem to think that trouble will leave them alone if they can run far enough. God is telling  us that in those times of trials, we need to be rooted even deeper in Christ. The world has all kinds of advice and direction for us to follow in order to avoid or endure problems. I'm thinking of a couple of instances in Scripture where we can see the effect of being rooted in the Lord. The three Hebrew children who were in the fiery furnace. When they came out, "... the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them." They were rooted in the Lord before the fire, during the fire, and after the fire.  Then I think of Joseph. He showed us his approach to his trial through naming his sons Manasseh and Ephraim. The combination of their names means, "... God hath made me forget all my toil" - and -  "... God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."  When we are rooted in Christ, He enables us to not hold onto the negative but rather hold to the positive of His presence in our lives. Fruit will come forth from our hearts as a result.

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