Every month the pastors of Village Church get together for the sole purpose of talking about our lives with one another – our families, our devotional life, wins, losses, etc., – and to pray for one another and our church. In that time we discuss a few chapters of a book we are reading called Dangerous Calling by Dr. Paul Tripp. In the chapter we are meeting to discuss today Tripp makes a great point about something that is central to Village Church and each of our lives: transformation.

“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven… you shall go out in joy…instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall up the myrtle…” (Isa. 55:13). Strangely this passage says that when this rain falls down, the thornbush will become a cypress and the brier will become a myrtle. Now think with me. If you have a little thornbush in your backyard and it’s nourished by the snow and rain, what do you expect to get? A bigger thornbush. If the rain falls on the brier the result will be a bigger brier. But not so with the word of God. when this rain falls on the thornbush it actually becomes something organically different! The picture here is of fundamental and personal transformation. Lusting people become pure, fearful people become courageous, thieves become givers, demanding people become servants, complainers become thankful and idolaters come to joyfully worship the one true God” (p. 51).

Let this encourage you today. Read over Isaiah 55 as a prayer and vision for your own life. God can and will transform you. He doesn’t intend on doing anything less.