Random point of interest: In verse 21:3 it talks about pain in the loins like that of childbirth. I have decided that this verse in itself proves that the Bible was not written by man, but by God. What man thinks of such things? :)
The Big Picture: I have struggled with reading prophecy for a very long time... ever since I figured out that I couldn't figure it out. Why read what I can't understand? The way I read the Bible though takes me through the ENTIRE Bible though and so I read it. I was reading in Revelation earlier this year with a lot of prayer. I especially hate Revelation because I don't think it predicts the future so much, but yet, that is what most everyone talks about when they discuss Revelation. God showed me that those passages are about His glory, authority, control and victory. I did not need to be looking for "what" so much as "Who". The same principle has been useful in reading through Isaiah. Over and over, God refers to himself as "The Lord God of hosts". This is true when he punishes Israel, in Kings-Chronicles and it is true in the prophecies as well. This being said, I still struggle to make relevant application to my life when I read prophetic passages.
Isaiah 22:7-14: This passage made the application thing plain as day. Basically, bad things happen and we struggle to cope completely forgetting that God allowed it to happen and wanted us to let Him lead the way through it. There is purpose to the pain--that was why He removed the protection to allow it to happen (v.8). Instead of remembering this and trusting in God (v. 11), we count our resources (v.8). We see that we come up short (v. 9), and take drastic measures to minimize the damages (v. 10). I do this all the time. The natural result is that things get worse (v.12-14)
Right now I am doing this with the baby. Thoughts of when this baby is going to come consume my thought life. I have said that I NEED this baby to come this week because next week is too busy to have a baby. At the same time, I pray that God will pick the right day for the baby to be born. Talk about fickle! Maybe the baby will come this week (not likely according to the midwife) and things will be convenient, but maybe God has another plan--one that doesn't involve me controlling every detail to make people around me happy. Maybe the timing of the birth will hurt. Maybe it needs to. The fact is, I don't know and I don't need to know. I am looking for the "what" when I need to be looking for the "Who". Psalm 46:10 "Cease striving and know that I am God."
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