Isaiah 12:2-6 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 12:2-6 on biblegateway.com
Verse 2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. Verse 3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Verse 4And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Verse 5Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Verse 6Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Devotion
Today is Tuesday. The prophet Isaiah calls us to sing, shout and testify to the greatness of God with wild abandon, to throw off our fears and celebrate our salvation. But it can be hard to praise God on a Tuesday. Tuesdays can be such ordinary days, with school and work and committee meetings and crying babies and doctors' visits. Even in the season of Advent, when we wait with joyful hope for the coming of Jesus, we can slip into some very ordinary melancholy.
"With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3). This metaphor is perfect for a Tuesday, because it celebrates all that God has done for us by imagining praise as a routine, everyday survival activity, like drawing water from a well. As we move through our ordinary days, may we find ways to sing and shout and tell the world of God’s saving power.
Prayer
God of our salvation, we praise you for all you have done for us. As we move through our ordinary days, help us rejoice in you always. Amen.