Do not be afraid - 17 December 2008
"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many.
The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
“Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
“Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations." Isaiah 51:1-8 [NIV]
Facing ruin, people despair. Those who lived in Jerusalem and saw it overrun and people killed in the streets and those that were left taken captive to another land – these mourned and suffered deeply. And scars seem so much deeper when we believe in God, but suffer and He does not answer. Even all the assurances we have shared these last couple of days still seem hollow. “What can God do in such a situation that I have? I am in ruins, I am in despair.”
If this is you, or you know a friend or neighbour in that situation, then here in this passage is something to ponder.
The world will still go on. Whatever your desperation now, there are promises that things will change. You may not see it now, but you can have hope. Here is just one of the promises:
3 The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
Hindsight is wonderful! We know that this came true. We know that Jerusalem was rebuilt. But we know much greater than that. We know the words ‘my salvation is on the way’, and, as Christians remember at this time of Advent, our salvation is come in Christ and, in Isaiah’s words: my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
There may be a long way for you to go yet. The ruins are there as you look. But see how God addresses you: 4 “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation. “My people”. Is that not a wonderful phrase! So, if you know what is right, do not fear the reproach of men.
To Pray: If this is not you, say a prayer for those you know, or don’t, who need it right now. | 