“Comfort, Promise, and Hope”

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11

Have you ever wondered what God really desired for your life? Does he really have a plan to “prosper” you and to never “harm” you? We read those words in Jeremiah 29:11, and for some folks, they wonder if they are meant for them specifically.
And the answer is, of course - the Lord has a plan for each of us, and not just some standard, “boiler plate” type of plan – it is unique and specially made for every person who has ever lived. Unfortunately, many have yet to allow their plan to begin working.

Yes, that’s true – we can actually keep God’s plan from playing out in our lives. Oh, some may think that the things that they do and experience are the Lord’s will for them, but I expect that this may be far from the truth. The one thing that we need to consider, before the plan can begin, is Jesus. In the first place, without the Christ in our life, we aren’t ready for God’s plan, and second, without Jesus, we could never trust the plan enough to follow it!

So what is the basis for God’s plan in our lives? Jeremiah 29:12-14 – “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

An interesting promise, but what does that really mean for us?

Isaiah 40:1-5

The charge given to the prophet is no different than the one given to each of us – to “comfort” the people, to “speak tenderly” to the oppressed, and to “cry out” to the all of earth that they are to prepare for the Lord’s way in their lives. These are the ways God’s voice is to be heard, and it is up to his people to allow him to speak through them.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote about captivity and exile that we have found ourselves in. Now, while most of us have never know the more conventional forms of captivity and exile, that is exactly what separation from God’s way is all about. The world has always gotten it backward – they believe that freedom is following your own desires and plans in this life, and that God’s way is so restrictive that it, by their definition, is the true captivity that holds us back and imprisoned.

But if we really think about it, the ways of earth are the very ways that Isaiah is promising relief from. The struggle that we never see a way out of; the pain that never seems to end; the lack of hope except for what we think we are able to generate on our own. And this is freedom? Personally, I think that the gift of God’s caring for all of those obstacles that crop up in this life would be preferable by far!

The prophet tells of valleys that will be raised up; mountains that will be lowered; rough places that will be smoothed out. These are figuratively the burdens that crop up in this life, and quite honestly, we will never be able to fill in our valleys, or tear down our mountains, and smoothing out the rough places in life could take far longer than our lifetime will allow. But when we ask the Lord to care for those obstacles– in the blink of an eye, it will all be perfectly completed. Sometimes, he defeats the obstructions, other times, he leads us through them or around them, and sometimes, he shows us how to endure them. But through faith in Jesus Christ, our Almighty God, and when we place our complete trust in him, he will never leave them for us to deal with on our own.

And when we do, “the glory of the Lord will be revealed” for all to see, by our witness.

Isaiah 40:6-8

But how do we actually proclaim the way of the Lord? After all, who can actually understand it all? Who has a prefect grasp on the truth and word of God? Isaiah expresses those exact concerns, for he, too, feels inadequate to share God’s call with the people. He compares our life and our voice to “grass” and “flowers”, with their existence being so temporary and entirely dependent on so many factors. As a matter of fact, he writes that the grass and flowers fail because that is the created way that God has put in place.
We are unworthy, and even incapable of sharing the word of our Lord – by ourselves, that is. These, too, are some of the obstacles that we are confronted with, but when we allow the Lord’s plan to work in us, fully trusting in his ability to flow through even the most unlikely servants as you and I are, his way will be triumphant.

The point is that even though our great God is perfectly able to do all of the proclaiming and caring and doing all by himself, we are the very ones who the Lord wants, and chooses, to work through. There is something about claiming Jesus as Lord that opens our eyes to who we truly are, as well as who we aren’t. We come to understand that we are only grass that is on the verge of withering, and flowers that will be falling to the ground very soon, but that our longevity has nothing to do with the limitations of earth, and that the beauty that people of earth rejoice in has nothing to do with the glory that has risen upon us simply by faith in Christ. Grass withers, flowers fall, but the word and way of our glorious God stand forever.

And that is the divine comfort that we are to offer to those who are struggling, and the tender words that will sustain others when subjected to persecution and oppression in whatever form they may come. The Lord wants us to let others know just who he is and how we, and they, can look to him for hope and relief in this life.

Isaiah 40:9-11

The prophet offers the term “bearer of good tidings” in a way that is somewhat out of the norm. This individual was usually the messenger who brought news of victory in battle, and he would be sent directly from the king who was leading the troops successfully. But then again, maybe this analogy isn’t so far afield after all!

How do you feel about being called a “bearer of good tidings”? How do you feel about being chosen by our divine King to share the news of his great victory over evil? You are, you know! The message from the battleground would tell all – even those who hadn’t heard of the battle yet - that it had been won, and even some of the details of the great and hard fought fight must also be proclaimed. This is the message that each of us has been charged to share.

We are to tell of our King’s courage and dedication to our cause.
We are to tell the people of his sacrifice on our behalf, and how he was able to defeat the enemy by his one great act of courage.
We are to tell the people of how he wasn’t just the overall commander, but how his bravery in the midst of the battle won the day.
We are to tell the people that we are a firsthand witness to his victory, and how he saved the life of even the lowest soldier in his army of faithful.
We must tell the people that, in truth, that even though the victory has been won, the battle is still raging, and that the King wants everyone to be part of the victory themselves.
We are to tell the people that our King’s name is Jesus, and that his victory march, his grand return to this world and to our lives, is imminent, and he wants us all to be part of his glorious celebration – but that we have to show him our allegiance, too.

They need to hear of his compassion and love for the downtrodden, and that, if they will let him, he will never leave them dependent on the world.
They need to hear that the world’s lies, and the persecution that they beat us down with, can never stand against him.
They need to hear that there is none like our King, and that his one great desire for their life is to be their King, too.

This is the call that each of us is to “cry” out. And the unique and special assignment that awaits for each of us? That comes to each who will call Jesus Christ King of their lives, and it will be in the where, and the who and the when, as well as in the many specific words that we use to share the promise of Jesus. I don’t know what your call will be, and I’m still learning what mine is. But by the Lord’s grace, we each will know, sometimes only day by day, but by faith, we will know.

Are you ready to share your victory to dispel the darkness that envelopes the people of earth? Today is the day.