Isaiah 25:8-9
He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. And it will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
Thoughts from Pastor Stuart
Dive Deeper
Behind the Scenes
Hope is a precious thing that is so easily lost. It doesn’t take much for us to look around and see brokenness. It’s everywhere we look, both inside and outside of ourselves. It’s easy to get discouraged and lose hope.
Isaiah understood this struggle. He too found himself surrounded by brokenness and pain. He saw a people group that said they followed God but often did exactly what they shouldn’t do. He saw families that were falling apart, sin that was destroying lives, and pain that was tearing people up inside.
His experience isn’t much different from ours. Sin still runs rampant and hurt still abounds all around us. But we have one thing Isaiah didn’t- the Redeemer has come! See, Isaiah recognized that we needed a Savior and eagerly awaited the promised Messiah. He was given this beautiful promise of the coming King that he shared with his people. God gave him a vision of what was to come.
But for them, it was something they would have to wait for… something that they would have to just hope for.
Make it Real
I was talking with a friend the other day about how blessed we are to live post-resurrection. The people of God in Isaiah’s time didn’t know the rest of the story. They didn’t have an organized collection of God’s Word (the Bible) littering the shelves of homes and stores all over the world, easily accessible in both print and digital forms. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit living inside them continually to guide and comfort them, pointing the way and revealing the truths of God. And they hadn’t yet seen the promise of the coming Messiah. They simply had the hope that one day, things would be better.
We have seen the Redeemer come and I’m so incredibly grateful. But I look around and realize, we still wait, don’t we? We still hope for a day when there will be no more tears, no more sorrow, and no more pain. God has promised us one day He will do away with the sin that surrounds us and bring His people into a land of perfection and peace. So, like Isaiah, we hope for what is to come. We wait for something better.
But our hope can be stronger than ever because we know our Redeemer lives! We can stand strong on the promise because we have seen God’s faithfulness. The life of Jesus is the assurance that we can stand on and the hope we can put our faith in. He is the promise fulfilled. Jesus has conquered sin and death for all of eternity and one day He will usher us into His perfect peace. Friends, THAT is some good news and a hope that cannot be shaken!
I don’t know what threatens to still your hope and peace today. Goodness knows there are plenty of things in this world that try to. But I do know this: Hope is not dead, Jesus is alive, and we can, like the verse above states, “rejoice and be glad in our salvation!” The world around us is still just as broken as ever, but the hope has come! Jesus’ blood shed for you and me has made a way for us to reach out and hold tight to that hope, never letting it go. His Salvation, given freely to any who believe, is the weapon we wield against the hopelessness of the world around us. He is our Redeemer and Savior!
So, whatever you face today, hold on to hope. I know your struggle might be heavy and hard. There are some really hard things that threaten to steal our hope. But I promise you this- the love and hope of Jesus is stronger than anything this world can throw at you. And you are never alone. Hold on tight! He’s got you!-
Crystal Garnett
ACF Digital Discipleship Team Lead
End in Prayer
Jesus,
Thank You for the hope of Your salvation! Thank You that one day You will do away with everything that tries to steal my hope. But for now, thank You that You are strong enough to secure my hope. Thank You that I can stand firm on You where everything else fails. Lord, please help me to have Your hope today firmly rooted down deep. Help me to turn to you when I feel my hope slipping. I love You!
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen!