(14) “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 

I truly believe that once we allow the Holy Spirit to begin to reveal the depth of our vanity and desire for control/self-reliance/self-satisfaction, we will understand why He referred to Jacob as a worm; worms are truly defenseless and dependent creatures. I don’t believe for a second this is name-calling – Instead, He wants us to understand that, despite what we think, we are not in control the way we think we are. This is Good News! And we have a Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel, to remove the evil, making us new from the inside (redeeming us) as mentioned earlier in Isaiah 41, keeping hold of our right hand with His Right hand.

(15) “In fact, I have made of you a new, sharp threshing implement with sharp edges; You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and make the hills like chaff. (16) “You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and a high wind will scatter them; but you will rejoice in the Lord, you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

And We, Him in us, become the thresher – bringing out the God flavors so that we will release the ‘chaff’ and grow in Him, we will glory in the Holy One of Israel. “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?” -Matthew 5:13 (msg)

(17) “The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none; Their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them Myself; I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them. (18) I will open rivers on the barren heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a reed-pool of water And the dry land springs of water. (19) I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia, the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress, (20) So that they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the Lord has done this, That the Holy One of Israel has created it.

And we will consider and understand together His Provision. 

Here’s a quote I came across today. I copied the punctuation as I found it… kinda fun, and I can’t help but be reminded of His Provision when I read it. 

“Yesterday is done. Tomorrow never comes. Today is here. If you don’t know what to do, sit still and listen. You may hear something. Nobody knows.” -Carl Sandburg

*Scripture from the amplified unless noted otherwise.

*Picture from after Saturday worship. Some friends brought foam swords and shields and a small ‘fencing’ tournament began. As you can see by my shield placement, I am not very good at fencing.