{"id":72208,"date":"2025-04-09T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/?p=72208"},"modified":"2025-04-02T17:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T21:18:15","slug":"zions-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/zions-restoration\/","title":{"rendered":"Zion\u2019s Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 62:1-12, Luke 4:16-21, 1 Peter 2:9-10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first read today\u2019s passages, I had several questions. I didn\u2019t go to seminary and often struggle to understand Old Testament prophecy, so I asked my favorite Bible nerd, my husband Noah, to help. Together, while driving to the lake, we asked questions, listened to commentaries, and read these passages aloud (to clarify: I read them\u2014he kept his eyes on the road).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as we wrestle to understand Scripture, we also wrestle to walk daily in our restored identity as God\u2019s children\u2014the main idea in Isaiah 62. Identity is relevant to every season of life, no matter how many degrees we hold or how much wisdom we\u2019ve gained through the years. This is because it\u2019s threatened by so many competing narratives in our culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Isaiah 62:11, we read: \u201cLook, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, \u2018Say to Daughter Zion: Look, your salvation is coming, his wages are with him, and his reward accompanies him.\u2019\u201d Living on the other side of this declaration, we now trust that Christ\u2014our salvation\u2014has come. Through His life and death, Jesus redeemed our identity. This cannot change. But it\u2019s our responsibility to become more attuned to this truth each day, rooting ourselves deeply in this reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a writer, word choices matter deeply to me. So what stands out from Isaiah\u2019s prophecy is the language used to describe you and me. First, we have the phrase, \u201cMy Delight Is in Her\u201d (Isaiah 62:4). Then at the end of this chapter is a really lovely statement of identity: \u201cAnd they will be called the Holy People, the LORD\u2019s Redeemed; and you will be called Cared For, A City Not Deserted\u201d (v.12). These are terms of endearment. They express God\u2019s love and commitment to us\u2014just beautiful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we freely walked in this identity each day, how differently we would speak and think about ourselves. I, for one, wouldn\u2019t despair so easily about not being invited to a prayer group or a book club\u2014actions that historically lead me to believing I\u2019m unloveable. An identity aligned to God\u2019s truth changes our presence in a room and peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,\u201d writes Peter in 1 Peter 2:9. I pray that when we\u2019re tempted to doubt or side-step our true identity, the Spirit will remind us what\u2019s true. Mercy covers every insecurity, every doubt, every moment of rejection or word of negative self-talk that perpetually tries to drown the voice of love. Today is a new day. Let\u2019s walk with a healthy confidence in our identity as God\u2019s beloved daughters and sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Bailey Gillespie<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 62:1-12, Luke 4:16-21, 1 Peter 2:9-10 When I first read today\u2019s passages, I had several questions. I didn\u2019t go to seminary and often struggle to understand Old Testament prophecy, so I asked my favorite Bible nerd, my husband Noah, to help. Together, while driving to the lake, we asked questions, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":71924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[296],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lent2025"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[71943],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"ZION\u2019S RESTORATION<\/b>

\r\nby Bailey Gillespie<\/i>

\r\n

When I first read today\u2019s passages, I had several questions. I didn\u2019t go to seminary and often struggle to understand Old Testament prophecy, so I asked my favorite Bible nerd, my husband Noah, to help. Together, while driving to the lake, we asked questions, listened to commentaries, and read these passages aloud (to clarify: I read them\u2014he kept his eyes on the road).<\/p>
\r\n

Just as we wrestle to understand Scripture, we also wrestle to walk daily in our restored identity as God\u2019s children\u2014the main idea in Isaiah 62. Identity is relevant to every season of life, no matter how many degrees we hold or how much wisdom we\u2019ve gained through the years. This is because it\u2019s threatened by so many competing narratives in our culture.<\/p>
\r\n

In Isaiah 62:11, we read: \u201cLook, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, \u2018Say to Daughter Zion: Look, your salvation is coming, his wages are with him, and his reward accompanies him.\u2019\u201d Living on the other side of this declaration, we now trust that Christ\u2014our salvation\u2014has come. Through His life and death, Jesus redeemed our identity. This cannot change. But it\u2019s our responsibility to become more attuned to this truth each day, rooting ourselves deeply in this reality.<\/p>
\r\n

Being a writer, word choices matter deeply to me. So what stands out from Isaiah\u2019s prophecy is the language used to describe you and me. First, we have the phrase, \u201cMy Delight Is in Her\u201d (Isaiah 62:4). Then at the end of this chapter is a really lovely statement of identity: \u201cAnd they will be called the Holy People, the LORD\u2019s Redeemed; and you will be called Cared For, A City Not Deserted\u201d (v.12). These are terms of endearment. They express God\u2019s love and commitment to us\u2014just beautiful!<\/p>
\r\n

If we freely walked in this identity each day, how differently we would speak and think about ourselves. I, for one, wouldn\u2019t despair so easily about not being invited to a prayer group or a book club\u2014actions that historically lead me to believing I\u2019m unloveable. An identity aligned to God\u2019s truth changes our presence in a room and peace of mind.<\/p>
\r\n

\u201cYou are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,\u201d writes Peter in 1 Peter 2:9. I pray that when we\u2019re tempted to doubt or side-step our true identity, the Spirit will remind us what\u2019s true. Mercy covers every insecurity, every doubt, every moment of rejection or word of negative self-talk that perpetually tries to drown the voice of love. Today is a new day. Let\u2019s walk with a healthy confidence in our identity as God\u2019s beloved daughters and sons.<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"38","scripture":"Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 62:1-12, Luke 4:16-21, 1 Peter 2:9-10","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}