Isaiah 62:4 “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.”
Forsaken and desolate are adjectives used to describe a condition. Here the words begin with capital letters and used as nouns. They were names given to Israel due to their sins. The sin separated them from God; they were under his chastisement. When they turned back to the Lord, they could no longer be called Forsaken or Desolate.
In the Bible we, as God’s children, are called by many names. We are not worthy to be called a child of God, but by his grace and mercy he has made us so. We have reproachable names given to us by the world. The devil delights in it. People say things about us when we row against the tide. They can be hurtful. We can be made to feel foolish. Life can slap us in the face and we may feel like our name is Forsaken and Desolate. Whatever we are called, good or bad, we will no more be called Forsaken or Desolate-never.
Forsaken is to be utterly alone. Even though in captivity, Israel was not forsaken. God was with them. We can trust in the fact that since our reconciliation with God, he has been with us. He does not forsake. He will not forsake. People and things may come and go, but God does not. He honors his word. He said he would never leave or forsake us. He’ll be with us until the end of the world. We always have the Lord. We don’t see each other 24/7 but we know that God is there with each and everyone of us. This makes all the difference in the world. He’s our anchor in weakness. He’s dependable in our frailty. We will never be named Forsaken. Don’t think of yourself that way.
Desolate is to be empty, having all taken away. If I ran the car and never put gas in it, eventually the gas tank would be desolate, completely empty. Sometimes we feel like we’ve run out of gas. Desolate describes a desert, hot and dry, devoid of life or anything else. There will never be complete emptiness as long as we trust the Lord. He will see that we are not called Desolate. Life can seem empty to us, but God is there. We find comfort, peace and contentment. We get courage to face the world. The Lord is here and will be tomorrow. He’ll always have something in our life. He’s our solid ground. Our first priority is to trust the Lord. Our need is supplied; we won’t be allowed to be desolate.
The verse says we will be called Hephzibah. This means God delights in us. We got up this morning. God was there. If we got up in the middle of the night, God was there. It seems the longer we live the more we lose, but we will never be desolate or forsaken. From prison Paul wrote “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica.” He said “but all men forsook me.” His eyesight was failing. He seemingly had lost it all. Yet he looked around and said he was persecuted but not forsaken. “I have all, and abound.” Why? He didn’t have much, but he had the Lord. He truly had all.
We are not called Forsaken for we are not. We are not called Desolate for we are not. A prayer of thanksgiving is the appropriate thing to do right now. Let’s thank God for being with us.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 