We come to Isaiah 12 and a reminder of the joy of our Reading Plan – one chapter a day, five days a week. In most plans, we’re hustling through the Old Testament at 2 – 4 chapters a day, and we miss stuff. I have certainly missed this gem, which reads like a psalm.

Hard times, whether personal or national, don’t last: there is joy on the other side. Here is the text without comment, beginning with the last verse of Isaiah 11 for context:

And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

You will say in that day:

“I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:

• Give thanks to the LORD,
• call upon his name,
• make known his deeds among the peoples,
• proclaim that his name is exalted.
• Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
• Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 11.16 – 12.6, ESV)

Amen.

PS The Indiana Hoosiers National Champion football team could certainly relate! “…your anger turned away…God is my salvation!”

PPS My friend Dr. John Ed Mathison, an accomplished athlete – basketball in his youth and tennis for a very long time – wrote about the Hoosiers today. It’s worth the read: Do Your Job

The Cinderella story is complete: the losingest team in college football history at the beginning of the 2024 season has just won the National Championship, defeating the University of Miami 27 – 21. I won’t recap the game: you can read any number of stories, all of which include some version of “The Call of the Game:”

Indiana might not have won by 30, the way it did in previous playoff victories. But the Hoosiers played with the same confident flair, punctuated by the call of the game: On fourth-and-4 from the Miami 12 and the Hoosiers up three points, Cignetti called a quarterback run for Fernando Mendoza. He pushed up the middle and bullied his way through the Miami defense, busting multiple tackles to stretch over the goal line.

That play summed up the season: Cignetti banking on himself and his players and Mendoza delivering in the clutch. – Andrea Adelson, ESPN, January 20, 2026

As I wrote on Sunday, I was rooting for Indiana. It’s a feel-good, fairy-tale story that you don’t get very often.  Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is an outspoken believer and a team player: “I went 98 yards with my boys,” is how he described the game-winning drive when Cal beat Stanford in 2024.

Here are a few takeaways:

• Don’t let the past define you.
• Transformation can occur.
• Don’t underestimate the importance of discipline and unity

This IU team also embodies a basic human hope: The hope that we can overcome doubt (whether ours or others’) and make something of ourselves – the hope that we can enter the lists of life and prevail – the hope that a band of brothers, disciplined and united, can win out. – a school headmaster (quoted in my January 18 blog)

“A band of brothers, disciplined and united, can win out.” This was echoed by Jason Gay in the Wall Street Journal:

[Coach] Cignetti’s gotten a lot of attention for his bravado and his menacing sideline presence, in which he paces and stares like a customer who thinks the butcher’s hiding the best T-bones. He’s as amusing a character as the sports world has these days, but the jokes and memes may have obscured how good a coach he is, how his Hoosiers played disciplined, complete team football, and topped it off with a jewel thief’s nerves. – Jason Gay, WSJ, January 20, emphasis mine

And I would add, selfless. When asked to comment on his touchdown run, Mendoza said, “I would die for this team.”

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9.24 – 27, ESV)

PS Miami fought hard and were within a couple of plays of pulling out a victory at the end. Miami played with discipline and purpose. Their quarterback, Carson Beck, is also an outspoken believer although I was a bit disappointed that he didn’t seem to hang around after the game to shake hands with anyone. A Miami victory, however, would not have brought the same fairy-tale finish as the Indiana victory. I’m glad Indiana won.

It’s MLK Day, a time to remember the importance of taking care of the poor and oppressed.

The good news is we don’t have to break stride in our walk through Isaiah to talk about Dr. King’s goals. Here’s the opening of Isaiah 11:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isaiah 11.1 – 5, ESV)

The “Branch” – Jesus – shall judge the poor with righteousness and the meek with equity. I think Dr. King would agree with that approach. Jesus will “kill the wicked.”

And there will be a day when predators and prey will live together:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11.6 – 9, ESV)

There’s every reason to think that this paragraph will be literally true, some say in a literal Millennium (see Revelation 20.1 – 6), others believe it will happen on the New Earth (see Revelation 21.1 – 4), or both! But as I read this paragraph on Martin Luther King Day, I’m thinking it’s a nice metaphor for a time when oppressors and oppressed will live together without the oppression.

Jesus will make it happen, also from Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor… (Isaiah 61.1, 2, quoted by Jesus in Luke 4.18, 19)

As this blog comes out, the National Championship game for college football will be played tomorrow between The Universities of Indiana and Miami. If you haven’t been paying attention, but you know even a little about college football, neither of those schools would be at the top of your list as championship contenders. You’re thinking Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson (my school, who won in 2016 and 2018), Notre Dame, etc., etc. Until this year, Indiana was THE LOSINGEST PROGRAM in the history of college football.

But in the last two years, under the direction of Head Coach Curt Cignetti, they lost two games last year and none this year. This year they scored more than 55 points, with a winning margin of 30 or more points, SEVEN TIMES. That hasn’t been done since before 1900. In the playoffs, the beat Alabama(!) 38 – 3 and Oregon 56 – 22. And even when they’re up by 30+ points, this is what Coach Cignetti looks like:

So in the spirit of “You’re only as good as your last play,” a Coach Fisher DeBerry quote I’ve mentioned before, usually negatively, I hope Indiana wins.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, NKJV, emphasis mine)

PS There are those out there who are still in “who cares” mode, who don’t care about sports in general or football in particular. I like sports, but I’m not a fan of the Big 10 College Football Conference of which Indiana is a part. However, I’m really pulling for Indiana. Why?

Here’s a perspective. A parent of a child in a public charter school posted a letter from the school’s headmaster. The parent writes:

Daughter’s school has announced a 2-hour delay on Tuesday in light of the Hoosiers playing for a national championship. The headmaster puts into brief but eloquent words why sports and community matter in general and why this Indiana team matters so much.

Here’s what the headmaster wrote:

On Monday night, for the first time in its history, IU will play in the College Football National Championship. For that reason we will operate on a 2-hr delay on Tuesday, January 20.

In truth, I hope lots of students will stay up to watch, and the reason goes far beyond football. I think we all sense that, for our community, this game is more than a game. It offers a moment to step in to true festivity. A festival is a joyful pause from ordinary striving – a moment we receive as good, not merely “so that” we can produce more. When a whole community enters that spirit together, we’re tied more closely together and share gratitude and gladness, and it is a reminder that our life together is based on more than utility.

This IU team also embodies a basic human hope: The hope that we can overcome doubt (whether ours or others’) and make something of ourselves – the hope that we can enter the lists of life and prevail – the hope that a band of brothers, disciplined and united, can win out.

“A band of brothers, disciplined and united” – that will preach.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. (Philippians 1.27, 28, ESV)

Did you see the news about Christian author Philip Yancey? I have at least four of his books on my shelf including What’s So Amazing about Grace? He’s a quiet, well-mannered fellow. I’ve had brief conversations with him over the years although it’s doubtful he remembers me. I refer to him in a blog written in 2022.

All that to say Philip has just confessed to an 8-year affair with a married woman. I won’t write the details here, but it was reported by Christianity Today and World Magazine. It even made the New York Times in an article republished by The Denver Post (Yancey lived in Denver).

It’s a fair report, written without rancor, containing the brief report from Christianity Today as well as background information for an audience not familiar with him.

Our question is, What do we do with this news? Here are some observations.

• It was an 8-year affair. He doesn’t say when, but it seems certain that he was writing books and doing other ministry during that time. If you read one of those books or attended one of the conferences at which he spoke, how does it feel to have been blessed by a man who was living a lie at the time?
• A few years ago, another famous Christian author, who also lives in this area, confessed to recreational gambling, including at casinos. Is that a disqualifier? Is having an affair (unquestionably a violation of scripture) worse than gambling, which that author saw as a “Christian liberty” issue?
• Balaam, the money-grubbing prophet, delivered some remarkable prophecies, some messianic, proving, indeed, that God can and does use anyone.
• None of these men work for me, nor did they sin against me.
  • So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14.12, ESV)
  • So tend to your knitting. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God. (Romans 14.12, MSG)

Back to Yancey, it’s a sad story, but I don’t think his previous work is automatically nullified. Moreover, the instruction for us is clear:

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. (Galatians 6.1, NKJV)

We’re in Isaiah 10 in our Reading Plan, but I’m not going to blog it. If you read it you saw:

• Judgment on Israel and Judah for oppression of the poor and needy (verses 1, 2).
• God will use Assyria to punish other nations (verses 5, 6).
• And when that’s done, God will punish Assyria for pride (verses 12 – 15).
• And when Assyria is destroyed, the remnant returns (verses 20 – 22, and quoted in Romans 9.27)

Good stuff, but I want to share something about John the Baptist from my reading from the Apostle John’s Gospel, chapter 1.

First, John identifies himself through Isaiah!

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1.19 – 23, ESV)

We’ll get to the “voice” in chapter 40:

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God…” (Isaiah 40.3, ESV)

The question for John the Baptist, “Are you the prophet?” refers to Deuteronomy 18.15:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’

Good reasons for reading the Old Testament! And here’s another:

John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1.26 – 29, ESV)

He quotes Isaiah to identify himself, then he evokes the entire sacrificial system (Exodus and Leviticus) to identify Jesus. How else would we know what “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” meant if we hadn’t read the Old Testament?

I wrote from Isaiah 6 the other day that every day I should…

• See God
• See myself
• Receive marching orders

John knew who he was – a voice, from Isaiah 40.

John knew who Jesus was – the Lamb

And John knew his job:

I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1.33, 34, ESV)

Baptize with water and bear witness to Jesus.

So I was thinking, What’s my job?

• A fellow invited me to train on teaching leaders how to use questions. A worthy project, I’m sure, but not my job.
• A former Navigator has a ministry revolving around the arts. He teaches people to meet and use the arts to learn about themselves, etc. I love the arts, but I don’t think that’s my job either.
• What’s my job, for example, here in my new neighborhood? God brought us here…for what? I was thinking about that when Tim McConnell, lead pastor at First Pres, Colorado Springs. shared this from Paul’s introduction to Romans.

Paul,

• a servant of Christ Jesus,
• called to be an apostle,
• set apart for the gospel of God. (Romans 1.1)

John the Baptist knew what he was about. Paul knew what he was about, and maybe at some level, we should share his call.

As we move through Isaiah, let’s review the broad outline suggested by Eugene Peterson:

• Messages of Judgment (chapters 1–39)
• Messages of Comfort (chapters 40–55)
• Messages of Hope (chapters 56–66). 

But one of the fun things is that even though we’re in the middle of the Judgment section, there are glimpses of hope, none as powerful as this section in Isaiah 9, often quoted during the Christmas season:

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9.1, 2, ESV)

Much of Jesus’ ministry was in Galilee, way north of Jerusalem and Judea. Verse 2 is the inspiration of one of the stanzas of “O Come, O Come Immanuel:”

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

The text continues:

You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil…

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9.3, 6, 7, ESV)

Verse 6 provides the lyrics of one of the great choruses in Handel’s Messiah: For Unto Us a Child is Born.

Amen.

We move on to Isaiah 8, which opens with Isaiah’s prophecy that while Israel and Syria are no longer a threat, Assyria is!

The LORD spoke to me again: “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” (Isaiah 8.5 – 8, ESV)

So do we focus on the threat? No!

For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (Isaiah 8.11 – 13, ESV)

“Don’t fear what they fear…” “Let the LORD be your fear…” I know people (some are strong believers who should know better!) who spend their days watching the news channel of their choice and worrying. It’s no way to live.

And there are others who seek answers everywhere but the Source:

Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion. And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8.18 – 20, NKJV)

“To the law and to the testimony!” The Message has it:

Tell them, “No, we’re going to study the Scriptures.” People who try the other ways get nowhere—a dead end!

The instruction suggested by Isaiah 2 stands:

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5.21, ESV)

We come to Isaiah 7, well-known for this verse:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7.14, ESV)

It’s quoted by Matthew:

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1.20 – 23, ESV)

Before I offer a bit of analysis and suggest an application, let me clarify that it’s not my intent to “teach” the prophets this year! I’m not qualified, and it’s way beyond the scope of this blog. We’re just reading through the prophets devotionally, listening as always for God’s word to us today.

The challenge of Isaiah 7 is that its context is an attack on Judah by Israel (“Samaria”) and Syria (“Damascus”).

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it… (Isaiah 7.1, ESV)

Isaiah’s message is that those two nations will not succeed:

And say to [Ahaz], ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…thus says the Lord GOD: “ ‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass….and within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. (Isaiah 7.4, 7, 8, ESV)

We’ve read 2 Kings 17! We know the Northern Kingdom (“Israel”, “Ephraim”) is scattered by the Assyrians. And the sign is a baby (verse 14)…

For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. (Isaiah 7.16, ESV)

The immediate fulfillment of verse 14 could be in the very next chapter:

And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” (Isaiah 8.3, 4 , ESV)

But Matthew appropriates the promise and applies it to Jesus. Just as Matthew takes the plain reading of Hosea 11.1…

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

…and applies it to Jesus. When Hosea wrote those words, there could be no doubt he’s talking about Israel and the Exodus. But Matthew suggests the double meaning:

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2.14, 15, ESV)

Let’s do our best this year not to get bogged down in technicalities but to hear the warnings and the messages of hope in the midst of despair. And chapter 7 contains a clear message of hope with a challenge:

If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. (Isaiah 7.9, ESV)

We are firm in faith – not in our knowledge, feeling like we have everything figured out!

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11.6, ESV)

Back to Isaiah, we come to chapter 6 which contains the well-known call to Isaiah:

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Isaiah 6.8, ESV)

There’s a lot packed into the chapter. It starts:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6.1 – 4, ESV)

“In the year King Uzziah died.” Isaiah 1 opens with a list of kings Isaiah served under, beginning with Uzziah, one of the good ones. He was good…until he wasn’t. This blog on Mentoring tells his story. So his death would have been a sobering event for Isaiah. He goes into the Temple where three things happen:

• Isaiah saw the Lord (1 – 4)
• Isaiah saw himself and confessed sin, receiving absolution

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”(Isaiah 6.5 – 7, ESV)

• Isaiah responds to God’s call (8)

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Isaiah 6.8, ESV)

So Isaiah was sent…to fail:

And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. (Isaiah 6.9 – 12, ESV)

Isaiah’s ministry to the masses failed, but his real ministry was to “the remnant.” Please read The Remnant blog in its entirety. It refers to an incredible (secular) essay from 1936 which contains this description of Isaiah’s ministry:

In the year of Uzziah’s death, the Lord commissioned the prophet to go out and warn the people of the wrath to come. “Tell them what a worthless lot they are.” He said, “Tell them what is wrong, and why and what is going to happen unless they have a change of heart and straighten up. Don’t mince matters. Make it clear that they are positively down to their last chance. Give it to them good and strong and keep on giving it to them. I suppose perhaps I ought to tell you,” He added, “that it won’t do any good. The official class and their intelligentsia will turn up their noses at you and the masses will not even listen. They will all keep on in their own ways until they carry everything down to destruction, and you will probably be lucky if you get out with your life.”

…There is a Remnant there that you know nothing about. They are obscure, unorganized, inarticulate, each one rubbing along as best he can. They need to be encouraged and braced up because when everything has gone completely to the dogs, they are the ones who will come back and build up a new society; and meanwhile, your preaching will reassure them and keep them hanging on. Your job is to take care of the Remnant, so be off now and set about it.” – Albert Nock, Isaiah’s Job, published in Atlantic Monthly in 1936.

In the meantime, this introduction to Isaiah’s ministry contains a useful template for our daily times with God:

• See God
• See yourself, confess, and receive forgiveness
• Receive God’s marching orders.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5.3, NKJV)