“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:1-3
To say the least, it’s been a hard week for nearly all of us. Many people are struggling with the current state of affairs in our nation and many believers in particular are feeling conflicted, confused, frustrated, some are afraid for the future, others just want to throw their hands up in the air and say. “That’s it! I’m done with trusting that things will get better, or that I can make a difference.” Still others are saying “things are so bad now they will never be the same again, so why bother to try.”
It’s tough for a lot if us right now. But let’s step back and get a view of the bigger picture. Nothing that is going on now has caught God by surprise, nor will anything in the future. He is not ringing His hands in Heaven saying, “I did not see this coming!” He is not calling an emergency meeting of the Holy Trinity to develop a plan to try to get things back under control. NO! Heaven is at rest.
Let me say that again, Heaven Is At Rest. Heaven is at peace. There is no threat to the Kingdom of God by virtue of what is being portrayed everyday in the “news” media, on social media platforms, in chat rooms and reports from whatever sources informing or misinforming us about the state of our world toady.
That said, it is also important to know that God is not unaware of our human condition. He knows our disappointments and He understands our emotional struggles and frustrations. We want things to be right. We long for truth and true justice to prevail. We are at our best when we feel safe and free from oppression and agitating passions and strivings and stresses from within and without.
The issues that are affecting us here in the beginning of the New Year, for many, are just a compounding of what we endured last year.
So what is the answer to all this? Where will we find our resolutions and regain our peace. What can we do to enter into God’s rest from all the turmoil of our times?
Generation after generation Israel waited in hope for their Messiah, their Deliverer, their Savior to be revealed and to bring them rest and peace from the warfare they endured all around, and to restore them to peace with God; peace which they broke by their sin, disobedience and transgression of His law.
So God speaks to them through the prophet to say, be comforted in this. Your warfare is ended. Your Messiah is coming. Prepare a way for Him. Hear the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make a highway for your God to come to you even in the desolate place.
The comfort for Israel was that they should be about the business of preparing with great expectation for the coming of the Messiah. Would it be today? Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? They did not know and God did not tell them. He just said, ”Prepare the way…”
Today, we are so overwhelmingly blessed, far beyond the wildest imaginations of the people in Isaiah’s day. In this nation in particular we have so many freedoms and privileges to live unfettered and worship in peace that we are still the envy of the world.
But there are those among us who wish to silence the voice of God, our God and our Lord Jesus Christ. We are in a war. Make no mistake about it, and it appears, on the surface of the things we can see, that our enemy is winning. But take heart. Not only is he not winning, his defeat has already been accomplished. Jesus Christ our Lord won the victory over our enemy when God raised Him from the dead.
Now because Jesus is alive we have access to all the resources of Heaven to fight the good fight of faith with us, because, through the agency of the Holy Spirit and prayer, Jesus Christ our Lord has triumphed and is triumphing over our enemies. All those who have postured themselves against the Living God and His people, the Church, will not prosper.
If you have been agitated, shaken or in any way struggling to find peace and live with a sense of confident hope, then turn away from the noise of the daily doomsayers, death dealing prognosticators and the corrupt politicians and media talking heads. Turn your eyes back to Jesus.
To spend our days looking only at the broken condition of the people and the systems of the present world, despite all the amazing creature comforts we take for granted, will only cause you to become weary and faint in your minds.
We have the witness of those who have gone before us and all the hoists of Heaven that God will not be defeated. He will not be mocked nor thwarted in his plans. Because He is at peace, we can also be at peace, knowing that OUR LIVES ARE HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD. Far from not being alone, we are surrounded by witnesses in Heaven, angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim and all in the midst of the glory of God.
“THOSE WHO trust in, lean on, and confidently hope in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides and stands fast forever.” Psalm 125:1 AMP
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25 KJV
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