Daily Reading // Isaiah 62:1-5
READY // SILENCIO
Take a moment to quiet your mind and prepare your heart for your time with the Lord.
READ // LECTIO
Read the passage above up to three times aloud. Allow yourself to feel the words as they are read.
REFLECT // MEDITATIO
Now direct your focus on the words, phrases concepts or sentences that got your attention. What is God speaking to you today through His word?
Isaiah 62:5 (NKJV) For [as] a young man marries a virgin, [So] shall your sons marry you; And [as] the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, [So] shall your God rejoice over you.
There is a newer tradition in weddings. Or, maybe better said, a new modification on a very old tradition. It is becoming common for the bride and groom to have a ‘first look’ or ‘reveal’ just before the actual ceremony.
The bride and groom get all dressed and ready for the wedding. (This is almost always a much longer process for the bride.) The groom is taken to a private location and is instructed to stay there: “Don’t peek and don’t turn around until we tell you”. The bride, in all her beauty and glory, is brought to him and stands just behind the groom. Then the groom is told to turn around. He sees her prepared for the wedding for the first time. He is always overcome with emotion.
Remember, the groom has seen the bride before. He asked her to marry him. He has always thought she was beautiful. But this is different. It’s the day of their wedding. Something has been added to accentuate her beauty. It is much preparation. Others have helped her, because she couldn’t do it alone. She has taken her beauty and enhanced it through preparation. He is thrilled. He will be joined with her through marriage.
“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”
This life is our preparation for eternity, as a bride prepares for her wedding day. There will be a reveal. Jesus already loves me and thinks I’m ‘beautiful’. He died on a cross to have eternity with me. But when He sees me with all the preparations that are being made in this life ... and I need the help of others because I can’t do it alone ... this verse says He will rejoice over me as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride.
I want that to happen. That means there is more preparation needed before the final reveal.
RESPOND // ORATIO
Pray in response to what the Lord has spoken to you.
Jesus, Sometimes the preparations become long and difficult. It will all be worth it on that Day! Amen.
Tomorrow’s reading -> Isaiah 62:6-12