December 22
Isaiah 40.3-5
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Deserts have intrigued me for most of my life. I saw a movie as a child, I recall it being some sort of school assembly, where most of it took place in a desert climate. I thought it would be an interesting place to live. And having visited some desert areas over the years, they are still fascinating. The beauty of them. And the abundance of life that exists in the midst of them. Because we often think of deserts as being mostly lifeless.
It is from one of these places that God declares life. We see the proclamation of life being restored coming from a desert place. And when we see John come to fulfill this prophecy we see him coming out of the deserts and wilderness. Proclaiming life from a place where life seems hard at best. And the life coming, the life that he proclaims, will come from one who says his burden is light and his yoke is easy. Odd messages from a desert.
God brings life to us in the midst of our own sense of lifelessness. God brings us life when we sit in despair and wonder if life is worth continuing. God brings life when we see imminent death. God brings life in the midst of deserts, wars, famines, droughts, and many more disasters. He is greater than the struggles of our lives. He has brought life when we thought life was over. He brings hope when we see no hope.
We watch and wait for the final salvation from our God. The God who has overcome all our adversities and so much more. The God who is faithful to his promises, over and over. The God who created and sustains everything we see, and far beyond. We watch and wait with a hope and confidence that comes from his faithfulness to his words. The mouth of the LORD has spoken, and we can rest in that certainty.
Song – And the Glory
Prayer
O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God. Amen.
—from Psalm 43:3-5, NRSV