“Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
    Then your peace would have been like a river,
    and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;” -Isaiah 48:18

This text is one I need to seal in my heart today, and everyday…especially on the days there are struggles it is good to remember that some of those struggles are due to my own poor decisions. Please hear me, not all our struggles are due to our individual poor decisions, indeed some of my struggles are just the corporate poor decisions of all of us. But too often I can place my struggles at another’s feet when in truth I need to examine my own life decisions, my own heart and ask, “am I following the principles God laid out not to control me but to bless me?”

That is one idea from this text….maybe that is the oppressive portion of the text for some…maybe you are already beating yourself up you don’t need that reminder.

The other idea I get from this text then is this…

All that God has established, that many call oppressive rules, are in fact foundations of blessing!

And the language of the blessings is abundant! Like a river, not a stream, not a creek, not a spring, a river.

Not a still lake, not a calm pond, but waves like the sea.

The commandments are wonderful! They are full of abundance for all of us. Walk in them not to earn salvation but because Jesus loves you so much He wants you to have everything, He wants us to have everything we don’t deserve! But by grace we receive through our Savior.

“Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
    Then your peace would have been like a river,
    and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;” -Isaiah 48:18