Sometimes a single verse can contain SO much!! Today as I continued reading from Isaiah 42, verse 6 just exploded with life. It begins with “I the Lord have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.”

Righteousness is a mighty hard thing to live out. To live rightly means we say the right thing, we think the right thing, we say the right thing, and we do the right thing. It also means we don’t say, do, … things that are not ‘right’. At first glance this seems pretty tough, but the second half of the verse brings hope – God will take hold of our hand. If we allow Him to, He will lead us.

To be honest, the struggle for me comes in two forms. It is usually evident to me when I say or do or.. something I should not. My first struggle is that I still have times when I an not righteous. I have them, but quickly realize the error of the unkind thought, the mean word, … Seeking forgiveness is the natural next step too. My second struggle is with the things leave unsaid or undone. The “I shoulda” and “I coulda” moments!! These are harder to rectify. We can sometimes ‘fix’ things but more often than not we simply must realize what we should or could have done and try to step forward next time.

The second half of verse 6 tells us what God wants us to be and do. First He again assures us of His presence – “I will keep you and make you a covenant for the Gentiles [unbelievers].” The very last part of verse 6 reveals what we are called to do: to be a light, to open blind eyes, to free captives, to release those who sit in darkness.

At first I thought this seems hard. But as I pondered and processed it, there came a clarity. We do these things by sharing the love of Christ with those we meet. We are a light by pouring His love into other’s lives. We shine for them! Through this light the unbelievers ‘blind’ eyes come to see the truth. Oncethey see the truth their lives start to breakk free from the sin and cares of this world. As we continue to help them grow in their faith, they are able to step out of the darkness and to be freed from the wages of sin and death. They are released into new life.

This is our call. May we take hold of our Lord’s hand and walk in righeousness today!