Isaiah Chapter 12: God is my Salvation
This is one of my favourite chapters in Isaiah. It’s a mere 6 verses, but it’s full of faith and praise.
It begins by setting this up for an appointed time: “in that day”.
When is that day? Reading Isaiah 11, which this chapter closely follows, we realise it refers to the time following Jesus’ first coming.
We are now living in that day.
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. … And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:1, 10)
Chapter 11 was Isaiah’s prophesy that one day, Jesus would come to gather the outcasts of Israel and even the Gentiles to Him.
This makes Isaiah 12 all the more meaningful to you and me. We are living in and experiencing the blessings of this prophesy.
Jesus Christ has sacrificed His life for us. We had no part with God before, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. We had no hope and were without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12).
But now, we are inhabitants of Zion. And Zion is where the Lord dwells and reigns (Isaiah 8:18, 24:23). You and I have been invited to live with the Lord and enjoy Him as our King.
So can we speak these words of Isaiah 12 with true belief?
“God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid.”
“The Lord is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.”
“His name is exalted.”
“Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things!”
“Cry and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
These jubilant words are easier to declare when we feel that our spiritual lives are near a peak. They may become harder to say sincerely when we’re enduring a season of fire and tribulation.
For the Lord to truly become our enduring strength and song, one thing we need is His joy. And because this joy is of the Lord, we can enjoy His joy as our strength even in the storm.
For this, we must first welcome His words into our lives with faith.
Before Jesus was crucified, knowing the great struggles His disciples would face, He promised them joy: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)
And also: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. … Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 15:7, 16:24)
Carrying God’s words in us, then taking action to align our lives and desires to them, gives us His joy.
Perhaps, deep in us, there may be an unhappy seed of doubt that thinks God works only in the lives of others, because we feel He is far from us.
This is where we must make take a step to make a declaration for ourselves: “I will trust and not be afraid”. (Isaiah 12:2)
Other times it looks like this: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)
God is the God of our salvation. He can save us to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25), removing our doubts and giving us victorious faith. He is determined to do so.
Belief and action is true faith.
And so we come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We come before Him to serve humbly even in our busyness. We resolve to say, “Our God is able to deliver us from this fiery furnace. But if not, He is still our God.”
Know that this God is your salvation, and He is in your midst today.
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A few years ago, some youths gave Isaiah 12 a melody. Why not sing it out? ☺
(scroll right down and click on the audio button to listen to the melody)
Isaiah Chapter 11
