Daily Devotionals
Comfort, Comfort My People
Posted in Comfort
Scripture: “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God…. He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart…. Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; He weighs the islands as though they were find dust. … Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name….” – Isaiah 40: 3, 11, 15, 26
Isn’t it as fitting as it is mind-boggling that our year of great stress is now culminating in this day’s election of great controversy? Within hours, our nation will know who will be seated as our next President– results which are expected to bring on possibly even more angst for the losing party’s constituents. But, may I be so bold as to interrupt our wave of worry with a Word from the One and Only?
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God (Isaiah 40:1), and following these four words of tenderness come 30 verses that remind us who and whose we are, whose nation we are, and who has been and always will remain Sovereign. May I be so bold today to turn our attention from the TV screens to Scripture, reminding us that we already have a leader more omnipotent and omnipresent and omniscient than anyone who ever has, currently is, or ever will be sitting in the Oval Office of the White House? Remember this Truth as your comfort today.
The Lord says, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them” (v. 7). “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? … Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way? … Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket…” (v. 12, 14-15).
Have we not been told from the beginning? The Lord continues, “Have you not understood since the earth was founded? [God] sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither… “ (v. 21-24).
Many in our nation and world may not feel comfort, but we as Children of God can because we’ve been given hope. “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (v. 31).
Take comfort, friends! Our God is in control. We are his lambs he holds closely to his heart, and he will not let us stumble.
Prayer: Lord, remind us today that you are Sovereign. You alone are our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. As your Word says in Isaiah 9:7, “Of the increase of [Jesus’s] government and peace, there will be no end.” Amen and amen.
Submitted by Caroline C. Bennett