Repairer of the Breach

Isaiah 58: 9-12

"Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, "Here I am."

If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And you darkness shall be as the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In."


I read this passage of scripture last week and it grabbed my attention. I have not been able to get it out of my mind. There are a lot of reasons for that. I don't think I could cover all of the riches in this passage in one post. Well, I could, but then I would have to neglect other things that need taking care of around here!

I have been experiencing a great churning of my heart lately. I don't know how else to describe it. About a year ago I experienced something that I have a hard time describing. The closest I can come, is to compare it to an explosion that happened inside of me. A spiritual explosion. I have been set on fire for God and His Word. I know that this is the pouring out of the Holy Spirit because I know that it is not from within myself. And that all things related to faith are a gift from God, and not of our own doing, or earning.

I have been at a loss as to why this powerful thing has happened to me. Part of the reason is because I don't sense this same thing happening in the people around me. I'm talking about people who are Christians, and love the LORD, and seek Him diligently. I don't see in them what I am experiencing in myself. And that makes me think that God is working this mighty work in my heart for a specific reason.

Maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe this is how all Christians are supposed to feel all the time. And maybe what I am experiencing is supposed to be the norm for Christians. But if it is supposed to be, I don't think it is. I see so many fellow believers struggling with unbelief, prayerlessness, doubt, dissatisfaction and just plain old lack of interest in things spiritual. I feel like I am the one who is out of the ordinary.

I'll tell you this much. I don't ever want to lose this. It is better than anything else I have ever experienced. I can understand why Christians are able to willingly become martyrs. I can say with conviction that God's lovingkindness is better than life.

So back to the purpose of this post, being the Repairer of the Breach. I suspect that God may be preparing me for some kind of ministry. I haven't been able to confess that to anyone yet. I don't want to get ahead of God. I also don't think that being called to ministry means being called to some kind of flashy, high-profile position. I think that right now I am being faithful by leading two Bible Study groups. I have also been actively pursuing relationships with other godly women. I have also started taking a writing course, which could certainly prove to be something that God uses me to minister through. I just don't know yet.

But I do know this. That nothing can change or shake the plan of the LORD. And I can rest assured that by obeying Him, I am pursuing His plan for my life. What it looks like now and what it looks like five years from now may be drastically different. But He will accomplish what He will accomplish. I don't have to worry about missing some mysterious "signs" or "clues" that God has laid out for me.

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15

"I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past."

So where does that leave me? Well, with a churning heart for one thing. And also with a realization that if God is going to use me, I have a lot of work to do. I feel like I am getting a late start. Why have I wasted so much of my life just flitting from thing to thing? I haven't even read the entire Bible!


But I would love to be called a Repairer of the Breach. What a title.