Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read Isaiah 40:1-5.
Even as Isaiah prophesied that Judah and the Southern Kingdom would be taken in exile to Babylon, God gives him a word of hope for the people. God tells him to “speak tenderly to Jerusalem.” The people would indeed be taken into captivity, and they would suffer. The people had sinned and turned away from God. They would not be spared the consequences of their actions. But after they had suffered through that huge storm in their lives, God already had plans to restore them.
I am reminded of times when I goofed up, and my parents punished me. After the punishment was over, I expected to be shunned by them and to be made to feel badly for a long time. However, they often surprised me by acting as if nothing had happened and went right on loving me as if I had not done wrong. God is reassuring the people that God will love them and restore them when the exile is finished. In fact, his language promises such hope for the future that John the Baptist picked up on some of the verses in today’s passage when he announced the imminent coming of the Messiah.
Personal Worship Option:
Are you going through a storm of any kind in your life right now? It is easy to think that God is distant and that the storm is more than you can handle. God is with you in the storm and will be there to help you pick up the pieces and move on with your life when the storm passes.
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