Read
Encourage God's People
1Our God has said:
“Encourage my people!
Give them comfort.
2Speak kindly to Jerusalem
and announce:
Your slavery is past;
your punishment is over.
I, the Lord, made you pay
double for your sins.”
3 Someone is shouting:
“Clear a path in the desert!
Make a straight road
for the Lord our God.
4Fill in the valleys;
flatten every hill
and mountain.
Level the rough
and rugged ground.
5Then the glory of the Lord
will appear for all to see.
The Lord has promised this!”
6 Someone told me to shout,
and I asked,
“What should I shout?”
We humans are merely grass,
and we last no longer
than wild flowers.
7At the Lord's command,
flowers and grass disappear,
and so do we.
8Flowers and grass fade away,
but what our God has said
will never change.
Your God Is Here!
9There is good news
for the city of Zion.
Shout it as loud as you can
from the highest mountain.
Don't be afraid to shout
to the towns of Judah:
“Your God is here!”
10 Look! The powerful Lord God
is coming to rule
with his mighty arm.
He brings with him
what he has taken in war,
and he rewards his people.
11 The Lord cares for his nation,
just as shepherds care
for their flocks.
He carries the lambs
in his arms,
while gently leading
the mother sheep.
Reflect
“Clear a path in the desert! Make a straight road for the Lord our God” (verse 3). If these words sound familiar, that’s because John the Baptist is recorded speaking them in the New Testament (Matthew 3:3 and John 1:23). And the message is clear through the ages: “The Lord is coming, so repent and prepare!”
“There is good news for the city of Zion,” Isaiah writes. “Shout it as loud as you can from the highest mountain. Don’t be afraid to shout to the towns of Judah, ‘Your God is here!’ Look! The powerful Lord God is coming to rule with his mighty arm. He brings with him what he has taken in war, and he rewards his people” (verses 16-17).
That was in Old Testament times. Now we live in New Testament times, and God is here. Jesus Christ has come and the Holy Spirit is with us. Are you “clearing a path in the desert”? Are you “shouting” with joy”? It begins with repentance. Then everything is transformed and made new through God. “Flowers and grass fade away, but what our God has said will never change,” (verse 8). By living with, by, and in him, we can be reborn to become new men and women in a new world.
Respond
Almighty God, you are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. You are the one and only eternal God. Make my life new. Wipe away my sins, cleanse me … and give me eternal life through your Son Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Mike Ross
Michael Ross is an award-winning journalist and former editor of Breakaway, a national youth magazine published by Focus on the Family. He is also the author, co-author, and collaborator of more than 36 books, including the bestseller What Your Son Isn’t Telling You (Bethany House). Today, Michael oversees Back to the Bible’s book publishing efforts. He and his wife, Tiffany, live in Lincoln, Nebraska, with their son.