Isaiah 62:1-5

Isaiah 62:1-5
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Imagine waking up tomorrow to find out every street name had been changed.  Everything would look the same, but all sorts of things would function differently -- imagine the struggles the post office would have.  How would your bills be delivered?  Would your GPS work right?  What about people's mortgages?  It's hard to say how all these things would be affected, but they certainly would be.
  God changes names.  More than that, he changes identities.  Maybe we look the same from the outside, but God makes dramatic reversals happen.  Where there once was death and despair, there is instead life and hope.  Where we wondered what would become of us, God instilled joy and freedom.  God poured out abundant life and it washed into the darkest corners of our souls, and there is no more darkness, no more fear, no more dread.  Instead, God has given us a new name -- we are redeemed, set free, restored to life and to a right relationship with God.  All this has been done out of love, as a free gift.
  You are treasured by God.