#DailyDevotion We Get Courage From God’s Promises
Isaiah 35:4–7a 4Tell those who are worried: “Have courage, don’t be afraid. Look, your God comes with vengeance; God will pay back. He will come and save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be opened. 6Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing. For waters will gush in the wilderness, and streams will flow in the desert. 7The hot sand will become a pool and the thirsty ground will have springs of water. …
Are you concerned about what is going on in the world today? Does the number of people who have fallen away from the faith disturb you? Does the attitude of many people towards the Christian faith make you worried for yourself and you family? The faithful few in ancient Israel felt like this also.
To such people the LORD says, “Have courage, don’t be afraid. Look, your God comes with vengeance; God will pay back. He will come and save you.” This applies to you today also. While the ancient Israelites were looking for the Messiah to come and do this at his first advent, we look to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to return and to fulfill this passage.
In Jesus’ first advent, we saw this passage partially fulfilled to point us to him. He healed the blind by putting mud in their eyes. He opened the deaf’s ears by sticking his fingers in them. He forgave the sins of the paralytic and he took up his bed and walked home. He opened the mouth of the mute and they sang his praises.
It seems that prophecy is often fulfilled like approaching a mountain range. You see close up mountains and mountains in this distance. The prophets when describing them to us go back and forth from the distant mountains to the nearer ones and then other mountains. So here, we see the distant mountains of Christ coming in judgment first, then his early ministry and finally the restoration of creation.
We live by faith. Faith is given and strengthened by the promises of God. We live trust Christ is returning to put an end to evil and gather us to himself in the resurrection of our bodies. We live trusting in the resurrection we will all be made whole again. We live trusting Jesus will make all things new and creation will work the way God originally intended it. When we are worried we turn back to the promises of God in Christ Jesus and there we are assured, given courage and have our fears cast out. Jesus casts them out by the great love he has shown us by going to the cross and dying for us and then rising again from the dead giving us a glimpse into what he has prepared us when he returns.
Heavenly Father, continually put forth your promises in our ears that we may have courage and not fear what life throws at us but live in faith you will make all things new at Christ Jesus’ return. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.