How often have you sat in silence, wondering what the next few years of your life would be like? The future is something some people fear, and it is where others find inspiration. We all want to live with a sense of security, but the only true security comes from God. The book of Isaiah, written to the nation of Judah living in Jerusalem before their exile, gives us a glimpse of everyday people’s mindset before they received God’s judgment. Life was good. The people’s needs were being met, and while they became more and more self-reliant, they walked further and further away from God. *whispers* can you relate?
But right in the middle of their complacency and disobedience, hardships came. Disaster came. Bondage came. And certainty of peace and prosperity left, too.
On the path of trouble and despair, God spoke to His prophet these words of promise and hope:
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
Thus says God the Lord,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
He’s speaking to you, too. In the middle of your chaos and the middle of the pandemic, these words of peace and promise are yours!