When Every Knee Shall Bow

I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow… Isaiah 45:23

Recently, I have felt a dread in my soul.  I dreaded having to make a decision, and even though I settled it, I had to then communicate it.  I hate confrontation to my core, and this news that I had to communicate was filling me with an uneasiness that was mostly self-inflicted.  I am confident that I made the right decision, having prayed heavily over it and even received confirmation and a blessing from my husband.  However, even though I feel incredible peace, I still have to take action and do what I have committed to do, despite dreading the process.

Dread. A debt owed. A promise that is pressing on our chest that must be kept.  A date on the calendar that keeps drawing near that we don’t want to face.  Maybe it’s anticipated news that we are uncertain about, or a task that taunts us with its incompleteness. Dread.  We’ve all felt it in one way or another.

Fear of the unknown can so easily entangle me with that familiar anxiousness in my chest.  It has a sneaky way of presenting itself as an opportunity to control the outcome of a situation or experience. The insatiable need to plan out every detail is a tempting distraction from pushing the fear back in the name of control.  The truth is, we don’t know everything that will come of every outcome. This is particularly true when considering the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ.  Much of it will be a surprise, but we can have faith that God has shared with us all that we need to know about the future…and in that, there should be no dread. We can rely on His promises to sustain us and quiet those fears.  I know that in the end, my Redeemer already stands ready to justify me in the presence of God by His blood payment for my sin.  I stand right with Him now, but also in the future on judgment day.  I can rest in Him and trust Him, knowing that all He has done for me will be enough.

One of the passages in Isaiah 45, quoted in Romans 14, states that one day, every knee will bow and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all.  

“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

I have sworn by Myself,

The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.

Men will come to Him,

And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

Will be justified and will glory.” Isaiah 45:22-25

For me, this promise invokes excitement at the thought that every knee will bow. A few months ago, I attended a business luncheon with some networking partners who were celebrating their year-end awards.  I was quietly sitting there listening to the announcer call out names after names of people who had reached significant milestones.  All of a sudden, I heard a loud alarm go off that sounded exactly like a shofar or trumpet blaring – one long, singular note that seemed to last more than a few seconds.  I jerked my head up and immediately started looking up for Jesus.  I truly believed that Jesus was back for us!  When I realized it was just someone’s annoying phone alarm, I felt so embarrassed—had anyone seen me?  What were they thinking?  I wasn’t just looking around for an alarm, I was LOOKING UP to the sky through the floor-to-ceiling windows beyond the golf course. I laugh about it now, but I know Jesus was pleased with my excitement.  He had to be!

For anyone who hasn’t put their faith and trust in Jesus, I know the day of Christ’s return may invoke dread and fear of the unknown. But for me, it’s a day to look forward to with awe and reverence for the one and only true God.  I’m not confident because of anything I have done to merit His favor.  I am convinced because His Word is truth and can be trusted.  For the believer, our whole life of knowing Him is a dress rehearsal for that day when we bow our knees and declare Him the one righteous God, just as we have done many times before.  There’s no pride in that. It fills me with joy to think about participating with the whole world in acknowledging Him for who He is! 

This summer, we have been blessed with an abundance of rain in East Texas.  In the past month, we have seen at least four rainbows. The vibrant arches always point my heart back to God and His promises.  We were blessed by another one today; it was a double rainbow.  Riding in the car with my family, I asked my 6-year-old if he remembered why the rainbow is essential and what it reminds us about God and His promises.  I received some amusing answers, but it was a good reminder that we must continue talking about it and telling our kids that Jesus is coming back for us one day.  

Every time we leave my parents’ house, they ring a bell on their back porch and stand and wave to us as we drive away.  We can’t go without rolling the car windows down to say final “goodbyes” and “I love yous.”  The kids would never allow us to drive away without shouting, “We love you, Amma and Papa!” They can always count on hearing, “I’m coming back!”  It’s a funny joke to the kids, because then they start yelling it back to them, “I’m coming back!” That’s what my parents want to hear most of all, because anytime they leave our house, they roll the car windows down and yell out, “I’m coming back!”

Isn’t that what Jesus communicated to his followers when He returned to the Father?  

“I’M COMING BACK!!!”

He is!  And we can trust Him for it.  We can count on it.  And we can shout it from the rooftops.  HE’S COMING BACK!

Ardently His,

Jessica

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