Monday 5 Dec 2022

December 5: Isaiah 35:1-4

Key Verse: Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

Devotion:
Isaiah had a special relationship with God and was told in many ways of the wonders which await us when we put our faith and trust in God. The way he describes it here in these words depicts a happiness which comes to those who seem to have no hope and nothing to look forward to. If you are in the middle of a desert, you have a rather bleak outlook no matter which way you look – but there is hope for those who know there is something beyond what they can see…

Our world may seem like a desert to us at times because we cannot see a way forward and we cannot see how there can be hope when we are faced with so much which seems wrong. Just like a crocus waits for the right time before it blooms into life, we may have to wait until the time is right before God will open up the doors in our lives.

God wants us to know there is hope, not just for us, but for everyone in our world. Isaiah talks about giving strength to the weak and fearful, not because we will eventually get something right in our lives, but because God has set in motion a string of events which will lead to something profound in our lives. We cannot see it yet because all we see is the desert around us. We cannot understand it because we don’t know where the water or strength is going to come from – but that does not mean it is not there!

God is our strength. Christ is the Living Water. We have this hope in our lives and we have to live them as if we know there is this hope. If we reject that hope we will only ever see the despair which surrounds us in this world. If we cling to the hop Christ gives us we will be able to see a world which goes far beyond our imaginations and far beyond our normal understanding. That world begins with hope and continues with faith.

Points to Ponder:
Are you watching the world or God?

Do you have hope in a future with Christ?