Isaiah 6:8-13-
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I.(Send me!”
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”
And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remainsin the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumpswhen they are cut down,
so the holyseed will be the stump in the land.”
and the land is utterly forsaken.
Stumps
I want to be a stump, Lord,
With all the branches gone;
To be stripped bare of anything
To which I’m holding on.
No leafy new-growth twig
Or thick and sturdy limb
Will be exempt from pruning work
As you saw and clip and trim.
With eyes made blind and ears made deaf
And cities ruined and bare,
A remnant God will still preserve
Refined and pure, in his care.
As shoots arise from ashen stumps
And seeds spring up again,
God sends repentant messengers
To go and speak for Him.
( found in one of my Bibles, written sometime in the last 20 or so years, along with this prayer:)
“God of power and might, your character is unchanging, your love is boundless, your provision is sufficient for our needs. Your patience is great and your mercy even greater.
We come with prayers and praise, sometimes in fear because of our own or others’ wrongs. We know how often we fail to be what you would have us be. But we have your promise of forgiveness for our sincere confession. We are grateful.
We come with prayers and praise. May we know your loving kindness and your grace. Be our comforter, healer, refuge, and strength. Give us peace with you, Lord, peace within our hearts, and peace with others, in the name of our loving savior, Jesus, Amen