12-14-2021

 Good Morning All!

    Isaiah 40:1; “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”

    Comfort is something that we all seek and need once in a while. We use this word in many different ways. We want to wear our jeans in comfort. We want to wear our shoes in comfort. We like to work in an atmosphere of comfort. When we are sad, we want comfort. When we are afraid, we want comfort. We even have comfort food.

     When we look at the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, we read a lot about comfort. Our verse for today is among one of the better-known verses. “Comfort, comfort my people;” but what does this mean? Is God giving us a good pair of jeans and some meatloaf? There are some out there who would think that way. But this phrase has far more power than that.

     When Isaiah talks about comfort, he is talking about being restored. So, when Isaiah speaks of comfort for the people, he is telling them that Israel will be restored.  After the Babylonian captivity is done; Israel, specifically Jerusalem, will be restored. The beautiful city will be restored, and the Temple will be as well. This is what the captives long for. They want to return to Jerusalem to the restored city. All they remember is that as they are marched off into captivity is that the city was burning and in utter ruin. They dreamed of the day when it was restored to its original shine and luster.

     So how does this affect us? We certainly are not waiting for Jerusalem to be restored. What does this mean to us and why should we even find joy in this statement? What it means to us means that God’s promise of restoration applies to us as well. Not to the land and Jerusalem but to God’s holy family. We see this story not as land but as faith.

    We were taken off into the captivity of sin. Think of when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, how sad that must have been. They were leaving behind a place of perfection and total joy, and they were leaving because of what they had did (sinned) and because of what they did not do (have faith). They must have been crushed and burdened with the weight of knowing what they had and that they so carelessly threw it away. So, through them, we gained a life full of pain, sorrow, sadness.  These are the burdens of sin in our life. We are saddled with pain, fear, sorrow, loneliness; all that stuff that makes life so unpleasant.

    There was and is nothing we can do to change this; so, God did. By having Jesus take our place and receive the punishment that we deserve; we are restored. We are restored double for our sin. We receive more restoration than we have sinned. The restoration is accomplished. We live with the promise of the final restoration at Judgment day. We wait eagerly for that day.

    But until then, we can live knowing that God is comforting us; he is restoring us to his family. Even as we keep falling away, he keeps restoring us in double fashion. Even as the pain and suffering of this world tries to beat us down; God restores us to his family. We can take comfort in our restoration for it is when we see that we are truly God’s children that we can take refuge and comfort in Him.

Dearest Father, you have restored us to your family. We live with the knowledge and comfort of your restorative love. Give us the certainty of this hope and the certainty of our salvation. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret