With all that is going on in the world and the trials of everyday life, I’ve sometimes felt this undercurrent of stress that only goes away when I take all of it to the Lord. He graciously assures me of His sovereign care and reminds me that He loves me without conditions attached.
This week, an issue came up that made me feel undone, yet the Lord keeps offering comfort and assurance, even with little things that say He is watching over me and the issue is in His hands. This morning, before I could think of a word to study, He directed me to a webpage that lists online devotionals. I’m thinking of familiar authors, but the Spirit said, “No, read the first one” and with it, God again surprised me.
It was based on Isaiah 40:1 which begins, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” The author noted how parents repeat words of comfort to their children, especially in times of crisis, words like, “It’s okay, it’s okay”… “don’t be scared, don’t be scared”… “be careful, be careful.”
Perhaps this is done because something has taken their attention off what they need to think in that time of fear or stress and the parents want them to remember truths when trouble strikes. Certainly this verse is like that. God is comforting His people in the midst of frightening surroundings with double words of comfort, a message of consolation, not alarm.
This devotional pointed out the value of what follows those two words of comfort. God calls the readers “my people” and Himself “your God.” For me, this repeats His assurance that I am His, no matter what is happening, even if circumstances and the enemy accuse me, even when I make mistakes, even when the accusations against me are false, even with misunderstandings that create conflict.
The devotional writer concludes: “No matter the loud or frightening trial that you may be facing, no matter the fear or discouragement that you may be feeling, listen carefully to these comforting words from your heavenly Father: ‘you are still mine, and I am still yours.’ It’s okay. It’s okay.”
I turned to the prophet and read more of what God says to me in Isaiah 40:2–11:
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
“A voice says, ‘Cry!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
“Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. So far, the issue remains unresolved yet that peace that passes understanding remains. God is God. No matter what lines itself up against His people or against me, His arm is around me and He carries me as a lamb, even in those times I feel like a black sheep that is rightly or unjustly accused. His steadfast love is celebrated — especially today as He keeps filling my heart with the music of Bethlehem and the sounds of angels singing. Every noise and thought says, “Comfort, Comfort, I love you.”
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