Author: Kristen Kansiewicz, LMHC

Take a moment to read Isaiah 40:1-11 before reading the devotional below.

God is a patient father. His people are crying, begging him to make things right again. Before Jesus came, they were crying for the Messiah. Today, we continue to cry out for a full restoration to the way things are supposed to be. God’s response to this crying is not, “Stop crying!” as our children are too often told. Instead, he picks us up and says, “Comfort, comfort, my people…” His reassuring tone reminds us of his patience and love.

John the Baptist points back to this prophecy as a description of his role in preparing the way for Jesus to come. He fulfilled this “voice in the wilderness” turning people back to God. The message God would bring through the Messiah was similar to what we’ve talked about in this series: the things of this earth will wither and fade, but God’s kingdom will last forever. Jesus came with that message and it still rings true today.

God is offering comfort to you and to us all. “I am coming, just hold on…” is his message to you today. The end of today’s passage reminds us of God’s power. But he uses that power to be on the side of those who have no earthly power. He’s for the down-and-out kind of person. If you feel like you can’t catch a break, then God has a special place in his heart and in his plan for you. He’s holding you. He has you today. Lean into his embrace and take a slow, deep breath. He’s coming.

Isaiah 35: 5-7 (NLT)

“And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.”

Opening the eyes of the blind, unplugging the ears of the deaf, making the lame walk… That sounds an awful lot like Jesus. We now know that he in fact did these things very literally. But imagine if the Messiah had not yet come. You could read this as a figure of speech, focusing more on a spiritual meaning: people who are blind to God or are not listening to him will see and obey. As we consider this metaphorical interpretation, it actually makes sense too. Reading the Bible often requires multiple interpretations, and sometimes all of them are correct in their own way.

This passage reminds me of another prophecy in Ezekiel 37, in which a valley of dry bones comes to life. The Bible has a lot of examples of dry things growing again, or thirsty people getting water. Even Jesus used an example of living water as a metaphor for himself in John 4. When God speaks to us in contrasts such as dry versus overflowing or dead versus alive, he is drawing attention to the differences between his Kingdom and Satan’s world. He wants us to remember that anything we see around us that is rotting, decaying, dried up, or dead is not his intention nor his eternal plan. He is in the restoration business.

God will heal you, he will give you water, he will cause you to flourish. These are eternal promises, which are a guarantee because Satan cannot touch God’s Kingdom. Satan can mess with our physical bodies while we remain on earth, but God will be handing you a brand new one for all of eternity. Satan can destroy things that we care about, but God will take that destruction and turn it into something beautiful. God will fulfill you. He will restore you. He will give you back everything that has ever been stolen from you and more. Cling to hope as you wait for his coming, and bring about a small corner of the Kingdom of God in your own world by meeting a need for someone else.

Isaiah 35:1-4 (NLT)

“Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God. With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.'”

“He’s coming! He’s coming!” I imagine the whispers of a crowd standing along a path, peering down the road to try to see a man on a donkey. They were about to wave palm branches and shout “Hosanna!” to a royal King. In today’s passage, we hear these same whispers but the Messiah is much farther away. They can’t see him, but they can imagine a day when the desert will blossom once again.

When the present is a wilderness, we tend to remember the “good old days” and we also look ahead to a brighter future. It is hard to sit in the here and now when life is not as you’d like it to be. For some, the Christmas season doesn’t feel great. Their hopes and expectations are not met as they wait for restoration, healing, or a subsiding of the pain. For those with fearful hearts, there is a message just for you: “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming…”

God’s future for you is not like your present. Whatever hardships you are suffering, whether you consider them great or small, God has a better life in mind for you. May the whispers of “He’s coming!” strengthen your weary hands. May the hope of redemption help you to stand when your knees have become ever so weak. My prayer for you this Advent is that you would reconnect with what salvation truly means for you — for now and for all of eternity.

Isaiah 11:13-16 (NLT)

“Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end. They will not be rivals anymore. They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west. Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east. They will occupy the lands of Edom and Moab, and Ammon will obey them. The Lord will make a dry path through the gulf of the Red Sea. He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River, sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams so it can easily be crossed on foot. He will make a highway for the remnant of his people, the remnant coming from Assyria, just as he did for Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt.”

Middle eastern conflict has been going on for a long time, and when we read the Bible we see the breadth of history that carries into today. Sometimes prophecies are fulfilled in multiple ways, and much of the events described in biblical prophecy took place not long after it was spoken. On the other hand, much prophecy continues to hold meaning for the future of the world. We don’t always know how or when additional prophetic fulfillment will come to pass.

The Red Sea and the Euphrates River are described in this passage. Keep in mind, we do not know for sure that the modern bodies of water with those names are exactly the same as the ones referred to in the Bible. Geography changes, as you can see from the articles linked above. There are a lot of divisions that have taken place over time in the Euphrates River — perhaps a fulfillment of these words of Isaiah. No matter how we interpret this prophecy, we know that God is planning a rescue for his people that will rival the great Exodus of the Israelites out of slavery.

God is making a highway (hint: Jesus called himself “the Way”) for his people who follow him all the way to the end. He is readying the world for the final rescue. He is creating your way out of a broken world. Nations will war, battles will rage, and God will bring an eternal era of peace. With a simple wave of his hand he will accomplish his plans. Are we waiting with hope and expectation for his Great Rescue? Or have we forgotten in the midst of our earthly lives? May we each be reminded this Advent to turn our expectations and attention to the One who has come and will come again.

Isaiah 11:10-12 (NLT)

“In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people— those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. He will raise a flag among the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth.”

If you have ever wondered why the nation of Israel is such a big deal with America and among Christians in particular, this passage is a good example of how prophecy plays a role in our current political climate. Prophecy generates expectation, and as we’ve already discussed in this series, sometimes our expectations can be misguided. When we read words like “the nations will rally” and “raise a flag,” we immediately start thinking about earthly kingdoms. But we have to keep in mind that biblical prophecy is often fulfilled in ways that are entirely supernatural and defy earthly systems.

This prophecy about the Messiah reveals that he will have a kingly rule that will save the entire world. Every nation will bow to him. He will gather people from everywhere in the world and raise them up. No one will be forgotten. This description has nothing to do with an earthly nation, and it has everything to do with Jesus’ eternal kingdom. The fact that I can be a part of God’s kingdom as a non-Jew is a partial fulfillment of this prophecy. Ultimately we will see the true fulfillment of Jesus’ kingdom when earth and heaven are restored.

God is gathering people from every nation to be included in his home. You will not be left out. Jesus opened the gates of heaven and created a path straight in, with no entrance exam required. Follow Jesus, that’s it. He’ll lead you right into an eternal life and a kingdom like no other. And you can invite as many friends as you’d like