Isaiah 54:4
Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
Devotional Thoughts
By David Wilkerson
Everywhere we turn in the last days, we will see God’s glory breaking forth in a last revival. Christ’s Church will stretch beyond all former limitations to spread the good news.
“Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited” (Isaiah 54:2–3). Simply put, the Church will gain strength and raise up multitudes in Christ.
As we look more closely at Isaiah’s prophecy, we see it is meant not only for the Church Body but also for individuals. I know godly servants, friends of mine, who have laid hold of this prophecy as a personal word from the Holy Spirit. And they have built up their faith by its promises: “Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more” (Isaiah 54:4). Isaiah makes it clear in this verse: God’s Church will not go out under reproach.
Yet just a few verses down, we read this warning to the last-days Church: “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires” (Isaiah 54:11). We are told that we will be afflicted and storm-tossed. Yet we are also promised a foundation made of sapphires. What does this mean, exactly?
When God declares, “I will lay thy foundations with sapphires,” His message is, “When everything in the world is being shaken, you will not be moved. The foundation I’m laying underneath you is as solid as these stones. What I’m doing in you cannot be shaken.”
These sapphires represent spiritual knowledge and wisdom, insights into the very heart of God. We know that those who endure suffering come out armed with greater insights into God’s mercy. You may be tempted, tossed, afflicted and alone, but through it all He is forming underneath you a rock-solid foundation. It is all so that you may comfort others in their trials.