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Isaiah 26: 7-19
The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.
Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,
we look to you;
Your name and your title
are the desire of our souls.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;
When your judgment dawns upon the earth,
the world’s inhabitants learn justice.
O LORD, you mete out peace to us,
for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.
O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,
we cried out in anguish under your chastising.
As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pains,
so were we in your presence, O LORD.
We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;
awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the land of shades gives birth.
The Word of the Lord.
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“My soul years for you in the night.”
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These are some of the most beautiful words written in the Bible on the spiritual life.
In this single sentence, the prophet Isaiah expresses a deep awareness of himself and his faith in God.
“My soul,” he says. Isaiah believes that he’s more than flesh and bones; he’s more than a mortal being; he’s more than the dust of the earth.
Isaiah has a soul – an identity – that was created by God and will be redeemed by God. His soul is his innermost room; his connection to the Divine.
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And not only this. But his soul years for God “in the night.”
The “night” is directionless. It implies absence; darkness; a soul’s separation from God. Other Saints like John of the Cross and Mother Teresa have written extensively about it.
Isaiah feels this separation. But he doesn’t give up; in spite of the dryness, he “keeps vigil,” waiting for the Lord’s return.
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So, what might Isaiah say to us today?
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There are times when God seems absent to us. Whether our soul is dimmed by grief, doubt, or temptation, we can feel distant from the Lord.
But these are the moments when we really have to hang on. Desiring the Lord – especially when it feels like he’s disappeared from us – only strengthens our faith.
As Saint Paul tells us, “suffering produces endurance, and endurance proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:3-5).
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Image credits: (1) Katolikong Pinoy (2) Quora (3) Becky Crenshaw
I am learning more and more that our suffering is given to us so as to edify our souls. Makes us FULLY depend on God to help navigate us out of our deep “holes”. He is the only way out, He is the only move. All other moves will never fill our voids or give us the right guidance. I am finding that He is the only one that knows our hearts intimately and is the path back to both restoring us strengthening us on our journey. Love the Quora image.
Amen. Beautifully said.