ISAIAH 11:1-10 – “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.”
THEME OF THE DAY: JESUS IS ALWAYS ENOUGH. Today’s scripture is simply beautiful. It describes the Lord Jesus, the shoot from the stump of Jesse, the branch that shall bear fruit. Take time and meditate on all that will be found in the Messiah for His people.
In Jesus, there will be wisdom, knowledge, and understanding . . .
“And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:2).
“And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians” 1:30-31).
In Jesus, there will also be wonderful peace and harmony in all creation . . .
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9).
Yet, of all the things we find in Jesus, nothing compares to the spiritual blessings we have received from God our Father through Him (Ephesians 1:3). The words of the 19th century preacher and prolific devotional writer, James Smith, summarizes wonderfully what we find in Jesus for sin-wearied saints . . .
“Jesus found me, vile and guilty, I had broken all His laws; when He looked, He saw me filthy; all corrupt my nature was; mine appeared a hopeless case, such it had been, but for grace!”
Jesus is always enough. And for that a life of praise is to be the life of all who know by truth and experience, He truly is always enough.
PRAYER: Father, I praise You that in Your Son, Jesus, I have everything I will ever need now and forever.
REFLECTION: No difficulty, trial, or tactic of the devil is able to overcome all we have in Christ.