It is hard to be confident sometimes. It is hard to be sure of the world’s future, our church’s future, the whole Christian church’s future. It is hard to sure of my own future when it come to my health, aging, my relationships with everyone.
Isaiah is God’s mouthpiece to a people who have lost it all and probably think they have no future at all. They are already in exile in a foreign place. They have lost their community, their lands, their business, farms, worship life, city and temple. They probably feel as though they have lost their God too.
Isaiah is a truth-teller. He says the reason they have found themselves in this difficult place is not the Lord’s fault. It is squarely theirs. They have turned their backs on the covenant relationship with the Lord by failing into religious outward ritual devoid of real heart, corruption and injustice in how they tret the vulnerable in their society, and into moral failure many times over.
What will give them any confidence that they even have a future, given all the turmoil in which they find themselves. This is maybe a good question for us in our current turmoil whatever you turmoil is at the moment.
Isaiah has good wors to say into this kind of place. The Lord delivers right words that encourage the weary each morning, including this one. They are words that awaken me so I am eager to learn from his teaching again.
Praying the Spirit awaken faith in your heart by this Word we hear and sing and pray today so that we trust that our protector and rock-solid sustaining power of hope and love is with you, and us.