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Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

One of the most-often quoted promises of the Bible is found in Isaiah 54:17. The beginning of that scripture states the promise, the end of the scripture states why it belongs to all believers.  And, sandwiched in-between, is found the key to how a believer walks in the manifestation of the promise.

Beginning -No weapon formed against you shall prosper.
There will be weapons, the devil will see to that. They will be formed, meaning they will be “fashioned” just for you. He will get personal, intending to hit you where it hurts.  Good news, read on…the weapon (s) will not prosper, meaning it (they) will not succeed. 

End – This is the heritage (inheritance) of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord. 
Righteousness means “being in right-standing with God,” and, it is a part of the inheritance of a child of God when he makes Jesus Savior and Lord of his life.  It is a gift and has nothing to do with what we have done, but rather, what Jesus did for us when He died on the Cross.  The gift of righteousness allows a believer to be justified in God’s eyes; “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.”  Righteousness allows a believer to stand before God with no sense of guilt or condemnation because of wrong behavior.

Middle – And every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn.
One of the devil’s most effective weapons against believers is the tongue that accuses and brings guilt and condemnation.  Usually, when we think of a tongue rising against a person, we think of those around him saying bad things, which does sometimes happen.  Perhaps, however, the tongue that causes the greatest problem in a believer’s life is the “tongue of the mind.” Our minds talk to us all the time through thoughts: “Why did you do that? …. What were you thinking?… How are you going to get yourself out of this mess?” This weapon is a favorite of the enemy because those tongues (thoughts) bring guilt, and, guilt leads to condemnation. Condemnation then cuts us off from God (NOT God from us) because we feel ashamed and unworthy to fellowship with Him.  That feeling of unworthiness makes it difficult to receive God’s love and all the good things He wants for us.  

To receive this wonderful promise found in Isaiah 54:17, we must remember that it is not about what we have done, but, about what Jesus did for us on the Cross.  It is about us knowing and believing that we are the “righteousness of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Cor. 5:21).  It’s about resting in God’s love for us, knowing and believing He has a way to abort every weapon the enemy brings.  It’s about trusting not trying.  It’s called GRACE, and, GRACE is ALWAYS about what God HAS ALREADY DONE to ensure our victory!

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