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.