Verses: Isaiah 61:11-12
The Lord has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’”
They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.
Main idea: No matter what you’ve done, God has called you “Sought After.” That’s His name for you. How will your life change knowing God sees you that way?
Did you know that you were sought after? Not just that someone loves you, but that someone loves you so passionately, that one of their pet names for you is “Sought After.”
So often, we feel rejected in this life. Even if we have people around us who love us, we still can be hurt. We still can feel taken for granted. We still want to be wanted.
The great thing is you are. You are wanted. You are “sought after.”
Throughout the book of Isaiah, the prophet proclaims a message for the nations. Not simply one of judgment for those evil nations around Israel and Judah, but of God’s desire for people from all nations to worship Him. You find that theme continued in Isaiah 62.
The nations are going to see Zion’s vindication. All the kings will see the glory of this new Zion. A banner is to be raised “for the nations.” The chapter concludes:
The Lord has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’”
They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.
Sought After. Some translations say “Cared For” or “Sought Out,” but the idea is the same. When I first read those words and thought about it, I cried.
That’s really my name? All the stupid things I’ve done. The ways I’ve failed God. The idols I’ve chased after instead of Him. He still calls me “Sought After.”
But I have been sought after. You have been sought after. God sent His Son to live a sinless life and die as our substitution, the perfect sacrifice, to purchase us and open the door of salvation.
Sought After. How much more could God demonstrate His love for you, for me? In what other more extravagant way could He proclaim the fact that your name is “Sought After?”
The question becomes: do I seek to live in this reality? Am I living my life knowing that I am called “Sought After” by God?
You don’t have to do anything to gain approval or love. You don’t have to give yourself away to someone else desperately trying to garner their attention, earn their acceptance.
The King of Kings has called you His. He has called you “Sought After.”
Take comfort in that, but also be humbled by that. Take comfort knowing that the Creator God of this universe longs for you as a husband longs for his bride. That’s the image Isaiah uses in this passage.
But be humbled knowing that nothing about you makes you worthy of this loving, this longing, this seeking after. You are “Sought After,” but only by the grace of God.
God does not give you this name because you are beautiful, intelligent, powerful, or rich. God does not give you this name because He needs your skills, abilities, and talents.
God desires to give you this name even if you feel you have none of those things, especially if you feel you have none of those things. He has specifically chosen you by His grace and love to take this special name.
He has given you the name Sought After. How will you live in light of the name God has given you?
"Sought after" reminds me of Aslan tracking Shasta in *The Horse and His Boy.* Always there, protecting and guiding, Aslan kept after Shasta until the boy was ready to recognize him.