Isaiah 35:4-7a (NRSV)
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Verse 4Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you."
Verse 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; Verse 6then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; Verse 7the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
Devotion
The desert can be a miserable place, as the Israelites discovered during their seventy years of captivity in Syria. Weary, afraid, and longing for home, they were ready for the words of the Prophet Isaiah! “Tell those who are fearful to be strong and unafraid! God will come with a vengeance. God will come and save you.”
But deserts are not only geographical. Poverty and depression can be a desert; so too grief, shattered dreams, illness, and failure. Uncertainty and fear can immobilize us. Perhaps legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said it best, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”
My desert right now is the ugly division that is America, fracturing families, churches, neighborhoods, teammates, and best friends. Perhaps fatigue has made cowards of a nation.
God’s call through Isaiah, spoken to God’s people then, speaks to God’s people now.
Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance—and God’s vengeance will be peace. When the Messiah comes, the deserts will bloom.
Prayer
God of all, listen to your children praying—for peace in our personal deserts, for strength in whatever affliction overwhelms us, and for unity with those whom we perceive to be our adversaries. Amen.
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