‘Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.’ (v2) Isaiah 40:1–11
Bound by the limitations of mortality, we can’t fully grasp God’s perspective. We think in weeks; God holds eternity in His hands (Isa. 43:11–13).
At both the beginning and the end, He perpetually sees the substance of everything. Following God requires our trust, especially when life makes no immediate sense.
Yet, God understands our pain and lives within the questions we carry. For if I were able to access answers to all my questions, I’d enjoy access to aspects of God that lie far beyond human wisdom.
However, God is our shepherd (v11) and sustains us even as we struggle with making sense of life. Let’s be kind to ourselves and each other as we face the uncertainties’ life places along the way. At the incarnation Jesus emptied Himself and chose to live among us, to remove the separation existing between us and God.
This is our source of hope on which we focus, travelling through treacherous landscapes. Remarkably, we are invited to rest in God with confidence when we appear to have lost our footing, for God alone knows what tomorrow brings.
When we think about it, our mind is besieged by the worst of our imaginings and God’s promise can sink beneath the depths of our despondent mood. We choose to pause and ‘see, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and… rules with a mighty arm … his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him’ (v10).
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Deut. 31:1–13; John 10:1–18; Heb. 13:1–19; Rev. 22:12–21.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: When life is difficult, focus on the promise that God is with you and knows the end from the beginning.
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, as my good shepherd, please guide and sustain me each and every day in whatever I encounter in my life. Amen.’
Photo by Bryan Goff on Unsplash
