Heading back to Isaiah today for another post. This time one of my yearly verses that I’ve blogged about before.

Literally for twenty years I prayed a verse over myself for the year. I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions (I can resolve to do things any day of the year). Instead, I journal and pray about the year behind and the year ahead and prayerfully choose a Bible verse for the year.

At least I did from 2004-2024.

Then God said to stop that. Or maybe he’s just said not to worry about it for 6 months.

I’m not sure. We’re only three months into the year.

So I’m taking a pause (or a stop?) from it this year. And maybe it’s a good thing to take a pause from something like that, because it can easily become some ritualistic action, even though it didn’t start out that way.

That’s another thing about the Christian life: we can easily start trusting in things that started off as acts of faith in step with the Spirit. Instead, in my sinfulness, I start turning them into deeds that I think earn me favour with God.

Such thinking actually contradicts with the verse I prayed over 2005.

Towards the end of 2004, I’d been reading Isaiah in my daily devotions. On top of this there’d been sermons at church on Jeremiah. And I’d been reading 2 Chronicles with my mentor. No one reads 2 Chronicles so we thought this was a great idea.

It was actually quite weighty to be continually reading and hearing about the ways in which God’s people had completely ignored Him, walked away from Him and were consequently falling into wrack and ruin, and going into exile.

God really didn’t seem happy at all with his people, and I was left wondering what God was looking for in Israel.

In my daily readings one day, I literally turned the page to find the answer:

This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Isaiah 66:2b. That’s the answer.

So I made it my verse for the following year. I was concerned about the humility requested in the verse. I also didn’t like the word contrite and meant to look it up to doublecheck I had the correct meaning in my head.

My usual Easter location is Katoomba at Easter Convention. In 2005, Don Carson must have been one of the speakers because I remember him saying these words in an after-session Question Time one night:

“If you haven’t felt contrition, you haven’t felt brokenness, then I’m not sure you actually know what it means to be a Christian.”

I have no idea what he was talking about or what he said next, but I know what the next thought in my head was:

I really should have looked up that word…

At any rate, the verse is still a great verse. If we’re wanting guidance about what God is looking for, there are plenty of times when – unlike in yesterday’s post – no one is giving you a specific word from the Lord.

In those times, and all the time, there is much in His written word that tells us what he’s looking for from His people:

Remember who you are. Don’t get too full of yourself.

Keep reading. Keep listening.

Keep obeying.

Yours trying to do all of the above,

Alison