Daily devotional, April 20, 2024 The long aisle

"You shall no more be termed Forsaken,and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married." 
Isaiah 62:4

My friend jokingly says that the longer the aisle in a church, the better it is for wedding ceremonies. He explains, the longer the walk, the longer the chance for a person to think about the life-changing decision he is making. That the length of time it will take to get to the end of the line will be helpful in case he changes his mind and decides to run away.

As followers of Jesus, we can take heart that no matter the length of our life journey and what it entails, what is important is we know who is waiting for us at the end of our faith walk. That we are looking forward to eternity with our one Eternal Bridegroom who has been faithful to us since day one, and will never turn His back on us.

"I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." 
Isaiah 61:10

We must keep in mind that no matter the heartbreaks and challenges we experience in our lives, there is a good future that awaits us. That no matter who betrayed our trust, left us out in the cold, and broke our fragile heart, there is a one true God who sees through our brokenness, heals us, and makes us new.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

That we must be confident that no matter our past sins, mistakes, and failures, He is faithful enough to forgive us as long as we repent. In the book of Hosea, God used the prophet’s life to demonstrate His love to the Israelites and His desire to re-uphold His covenant with them.

"I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you inrighteousness and justice, in love and compassion.I will betroth you in faithfulness,and you will acknowledge the Lord." 
Hosea 2:19-20

And just as a bride’s life-changing choice looms before her as she walks towards the altar, may our God-honoring choices lead us to the Lord. May it sanctify us enough to stand before our Eternal Bridegroom at the end of our faith walk.

'Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure'—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.'" 
Revelation 19:7-8

So what do we have to do to make sure that it is the Eternal Bridegroom that awaits us at the end of our lives? Well, we have to forge a good relationship with Him as early as now. We can do this by setting apart time in our daily lives to commune with Him through prayer and quiet time.

We should try to get to know Him more by reading His words and reflecting on them. Reflecting on how we can live out His teachings. Moreover, we can nourish our relationship with Him by allowing ourselves to get acquainted with His promises and be bold enough to claim them for ourselves. Lastly, we can form that strong bond with our Creator by worshipping Him, and seeking Him alongside other believers.

"And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." 
John 17:3

Equally important is to live out our faith and abide in Him, will help us remain faithful to Him. It is by having this intimate bond with the Lord will we get to ensure that it is our Eternal Bridegroom that awaits us on that day.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Isaiah 62:2-5 and Hosea 2:10-23 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Can you give your heart wholly to the Lord?

Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for giving me the gift of Eternal Life. Your presence in my life and your promise of eternity is what helps me get through all the challenges in my life. I love you Jesus. Amen.