ISAIAH 62:4

The Scriptures graciously remind us that we “shall no more be termed Forsaken, neither shall thy land anymore be termed Desolate: but thou shall be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married” (Isaiah 62:4). What a beautiful thought to reflect upon in this very cold month, February, of this unusually harsh winter. I must confess that as I looked out on this another bleak, sunless, wintry day with snow presently copiously falling, I was a little disheartened. For some reason, I was thinking that the snow was all done, and what we already had on the ground was soon going to be melted and washed away. However, I was so wrong. The truth is, this can actually go on for quite a few more weeks. This is really one of the most severe winters we have had in some time. All we can do is pray and eagerly look forward to Spring, a change, a shift, and a break from this intense cold.

Maybe it was for this reason I found this Scripture so very inspiring and uplifting. It speaks of a prophetic shift from being “Forsaken” and “Desolate” to being cherished by God. It specifically speaks to the church, and it speaks directly to me, reminding me that we are not forsaken and abandoned. Honestly, though, that’s how we sometimes feel, but contrary to how we feel or are made to feel, another reality is prophesied and categorically presented to us in this enlightening passage. I bless God that the winter and the harshness of it is temporary. It shall subside! Brighter and better days are coming! We readily embrace the prophetic word that we are not Forsaken. In fact, He as much as promised this in His last words and encounter with His embryonic church, “. . . And, lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:20). No matter how depressing and bleak it may appear, divine speech comforts us with the prospect of miraculous change – no more “Forsaken.”

It further declares that we shall no longer be termed “Desolate” – joyless, disconsolate, sorrowful, abandoned, dilapidated, barren, lifeless, gloomy, miserable, or sunless. I really like the thought implied in Scripture that the church is not a funeral society. It may be cloudy and dark all around, but our hope and consolation remain not in the circumstances in which we find ourselves but in the God who is in sovereign control of our lives and this universe.

Therefore, here we find a shift from abandonment to divine favor, restoration, and transformation. A new and favored identity is now powerfully prophetically spoken over the people of God. From Desolation and Abandonment, the message is dispatched ” . . .For the Lord delighteth in thee and thy land shall be married” (v. 4). May this thought be allowed to sink deep within our spirits this year – the Lord delighteth in thee. Let this thought forever rejoice and encourage our hearts! In Him we have found favor!

It is His delight to change our dilemmas and our puzzling and depressive circumstances and conditions. May you positively know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are not forsaken or desolate today. The more appropriate term for us is Hephzibah, meaning – the Lord delighteth in us and cherishes us. We are also now termed as Beulah meaning – we are married to the Lord. No longer forsaken or abandoned.