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Sirach 48:22 "For Hezekiah did what was pleasing to the Lord, and he held strongly to the ways of David his father, which Isaiah the prophet commanded, who was great and faithful in his vision."

 

A few days ago, my daily verse was from the beginning of the Book of Isaiah, and I wrote about Isaiah's vision, and his faithfulness to it. This verse confirms how faithful Isaiah was to God's promptings, and the effect his being so had on the rulers and kingdom of Israel, as well as on salvation history in general. 

 

This morning as I was asking for the Holy Spirit's guidance and, frankly, wrestling with whether I wanted to journal today, I thought of Luisa Piccarreta and how she sometimes bristled at having to write everything down. She was given many lessons in obedience to help her learn to do that. Nonetheless, she occasionally skipped writing, and Jesus would gently reprove her, reminding her that her writings were not for her, but for others. I thought of how The Book of Heaven seems to be getting traction now, and how it reveals the truth of what is happening in our world. We would not know any of it, we would not have the framework on which to lay reality (and see it fit and take shape), nor would we know what God is leading us to, if not for Luisa's writings. The same is true for Hezekiah, who was not David's immediate son, but the 13th king in David's line. A lot had gone on since David's reign, and Hezekiah would not have held to David's ways if he had not had Isaiah to guide him.

 

God knows when we need help and when He wants to reveal more of Himself to us. He then inspires others to bring those things to us. For the most part, our help and revelation are found in Scripture and Church teaching (mine has been, to which this journal can attest). If we really spend time with Scripture, revelation opens up to us, guidance is made clear. But sometimes there is more God wants to say. In those times, He chooses the right person, gives them a "vision ", and asks them to take His message to others. That "taking" can be quick and direct, as when Isaiah went directly to Hezekiah as in Isaiah 38:1-8, but it can also be very slow, in our perception of time (think of how Isaiah's sign to Ahaz (Hezekiah's father) of a virgin bearing a son wouldn't come about for another 700 years or so). I didn't begin to benefit from Isaiah's words and guidance until 2,700 years after he lived and spoke. I didn't begin to benefit from Luisa's writings until 125 years after she wrote them down, over her own hesitations. 

 

God is eternal and outside time. His messages share these qualities, although they are given to us in time. Isaiah and Luisa were both faithful to their visions because they knew from whom they came and they obeyed. Because they did, the people of their time benefited, but all of humanity did as well. God does not call all of us to be visionaries and prophets, but He does have a mission for each of us. When He reveals it to us, if we cooperate, He will accomplish great things, eternal acts that have repercussions far outside our perceived zone and time of influence, as long as we are faithful to our mission.