He is Our Healer and Our Rear Guard - Isaiah 58:8

Greetings brothers and sisters in the Lord. God is so good. I am praising Him through the work that He has established me to do today. I have a great devotional that was placed in my path as I spoke with a precious sister in the Lord. This will be a great comfort to all. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father. I breathe in Your breath of life. Though I cannot see You, I sense Your presence all around me. Just like I cannot see oxygen in the air, I have faith that I am breathing that in because I am alive. Thank you for the ability to know You in all Your magnificent ways. How You covered me today in all the activities and ordered every step. I gave all to You, asking for Your thoughts and wisdom. You gave in abundance all that I needed. Hallelujah. I don't just praise You for this, but for Your unending love that surrounds me and fills me to overflowing. Continue to do a work in my heart and soul as I endeavor to know You in a deeper way. Praise You for the victory and going before me. Help me to see Your covering behind me. Reveal new manna in our reading today in Isaiah 58:8. I know that You protect me even now as I sit and study Your word. I long for a glimpse of Your glory just like Moses. Forgive me for falling short and sinned. Show me where I need to forgive others who have offended and hurt me unintentionally. I continue to pray for them as I know it is Your will for us to be at peace with all as much as is possible. My life is in Your hands. I am positioned to go through the next door with You. I surrender it all. Lead on my Jesus. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Today's devotional is from Isaiah 58:8 (NKJV) where it reads,

"Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard."

He is the Light of the world

When it is sunny outside, I look at the sun and smile. The imagery of the light breaking like the morning in this verse fills me with hope of His mercies that are new every morning and new opportunities to experience His grace throughout the day. My action is to embrace the day and say, "I love You, Lord. Thank You for another day." He is the Light of the world.

He is our Healer

His healing quickly fills me with joy. For many of us, healing can be physical, relational, and spiritual. The good news is that He brings about our healing quickly in that new morning. The expectation of His healing reminds me of the woman with the issue of blood who pursued her healing, having enough faith that touching the hem of his garment in Luke 8:43-48 would heal her completely. Jesus felt His healing power leave Him at that moment. Our healing requires faith.

Remember the leper who ask Jesus in Luke 5:12 (NKJV), "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus's response was simply "I am willing. Be cleansed." Jesus, our King of kings, is our Healer. He is ALWAYS willing to heal. We need to have faith of a mustard seed and trust Him.

He is my Righteousness

Then I read about "your righteousness shall go before you". I do not have any righteousness of my own. Praise God for the righteousness of Christ, the Passover Lamb, the only acceptable sacrifice for my sin. He is my righteousness going before me. I keep my eyes fixed, so I do not fall to the right or the left. The next and final line grips my heart...

The Glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Do you recall that the Glory of the Lord was so bright that Moses had to be hidden in the cleft of the rock to see God's back pass before him in Exodus 33:22? In Isaiah, it says that the Glory will be guarding our back. Even in Isaiah 52:12 (NKJV), it says, "For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard."

In Psalm 139:5 (NKJV) says that "You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me."

and

Exodus 14:19 (NKJV) further reminds of God's protection of us as it is recorded that "the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar went from before them and stood behind them."

We need to understand that God repositioned Himself in the pillar of cloud with His Angel to obscure the view of the Egyptians behind the Israelites to protect them as they moved on the dry land across the Red Sea. Our covenant making and keeping God protected His people.

If God did this for the Israelites then, what can He do now? There is NOTHING too hard for Him to do. These Bible scriptures are memorials to His faithfulness and protection. He loves every one of you.

Brothers and sisters, I confess that I have placed God into a box a time or two. My faith was not big enough. But by and through His grace, God took the veil off of my eyes to see that He is exactly as He has revealed Himself to be... unconstrained by time, able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I can ask or think, loving us without bounds to the Cross and to the Throne. He continues to show me His glory as I cling to Him and walk forward into this new season.

Forgive me Lord for placing You in a box created by religion. Praise You for being the light on the path and for Your healing. Praise You for going before me and behind me. You protect me on all sides. As I walk with You, show me who needs to hear about You and see Your glory. In Jesus Name. Amen.