"The God Pause Daily Devotional" The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Monday, 27 June 2016 with Scripture Isaiah 66:10-14

"The God Pause Daily Devotional" The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Monday, 27 June 2016 with Scripture Isaiah 66:10-14
Isaiah 66:10 Rejoice with Yerushalayim!

Be glad with her, all you who love her!

Rejoice, rejoice with her,

all of you who mourned for her;

11 so that you nurse and are satisfied

by her comforting breast,

drinking deeply and delighting

in the overflow of her glory.

12 For Adonai says, “I will spread shalom

over her like a river,

and the wealth of nations

like a flooding stream;

you will nurse and be carried in her arm

and cuddled in her lap.

13 Like someone comforted by his mother,

I will comfort you;

in Yerushalayim

you will be comforted.”

14 Your heart will rejoice at the sight,

your bodies will flourish like newly sprouted grass.

It will be known that the hand of Adonai

is with his servants; but with his enemies, his fury.[Complete Jewish Bible]
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Anybody who has cared for a baby knows the phrase "milk drunk." It's that moment after feeding when an infant seems to be in a chemically altered state of bliss. The child's eyes are half-closed, the brow is smooth, a tiny smile may adorn the lips; everything is groovy. When a baby is milk drunk, more has happened than a satisfaction of nutritional needs. The child feels safe, comfortable, valuable and peaceful.
Isaiah encourages Israel to seek from God all that an infant seeks from a mother: safety, comfort, value and peace along with their physical needs. Despite difficult conditions, Israel could receive everything to live and to make living joyful. God is pleased to pour Godself out for the people. May we come to God as infants come to their mother--receiving all we need to live in this day and all we need to make this day groovy.
Mothering God, too often we seek our spiritual comfort from our own sources, sources that will always dry up. Today we turn our faces to you. Fill us physically and spiritually to overflowing so we may share what we have received with others. Amen.
Jill Bergman
Associate Pastor, First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minn.
Master of Divinity, 2003
Isaiah 66:10 Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her--
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom.
12 For thus says the Lord: I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.[New Revised Standard Version]
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