Isaiah 55 Study: God Makes All Things New

“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,

And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,

And it will be a memorial to the Lord,

For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”

(Isaiah 55:13)

No matter what we’ve done, God can make all things beautiful. 

This final verse in Isaiah 55 paints a vivid picture: instead of thorns and thistles of sin in our life, God transforms us into thriving cypress and myrtles trees. When we choose to follow Christ over our sin, not only do we find peace and joy (vs. 12) – He makes us completely new (vs. 13).

Where We Came From

We can’t produce fruits on our own. Only God transforms our wasteland of thorns into a flourishing tree. When we allow sin to reign in our life it destroys good things and makes them harmful to us.

But what does it mean to let “sin reign in our life”?

Anything we choose to love more than God is sin. It’s not always obviously wrong. In fact, it’s often a very good thing. But every time we give into the desires of that sin, we feed it. As it grows in our life, it will eventually overwhelm our thoughts and desires until it owns us completely. 

If we desire to love people, but we choose to love them more than God - that good desire will turn sour in our lives. That desire will grow deeper and deeper within us. Suddenly, we’ll do anything at all in order to get what we want out of people. What began as a pure desire is now distorted.

What We Offer

This is what we have to offer God - our sin and our shame. Yet, He gladly takes us in and gives us a new life. He doesn’t make our thorns less prickly – He removes them by the root. He takes it out by the root and kills its power over us. 

While God removed the power of sin over our life, sin still has the opportunity to keep us from a close relationship with God. Sin wiggles its way back in, doing as much damage as it has power to do: to take our joy and peace.

But what happens when we let God be our object of worship and we fight against the desires that compete for our love and affection? He brings life to the death of sin in our lives. 

Where God Brings Us

We thrive. We grow. We become more like Him. We delight in Him and He delights in us. Slowly, we’ll find the joy and peace which comes in knowing Him closely. Even though the temptation of sin won’t be completely removed from us until we’re fully renewed in Heaven one day.

God brings beauty out of darkness, and He sets us apart as His. His children who He loves. The closer we become to Him, the more joy we’ll give Him and find for ourselves. 

When we choose God, the promise He’s made to us is fulfilled in us as His covenant. For all eternity, we’re His. We’re a testament to His redemption, a picture of His grace.

This verse has a lot of personal meaning for me. A few years back, I tattooed a tree on my forearm to symbolize this verse.

I chose death and sin over God time and time again. When I finally chose Him - He offered me life when all I could give was my debt of sin. But He brought me out of what was enslaving and destroying me and into a life with Him. 

Are you choosing death or life? What have you allowed in your life that is maybe overtaking you? You can either let death (sin) or life (God) produce in your life.

Which seed will you allow to grow in your life?