December 07 | Glowing Light
Isaiah 40:1-2
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for…”
I remember as a little boy going camping with my family. My favorite part was when it was finally dark enough to light the campfire. As my dad prepared the wood, I would hunt for the perfect marshmallow stick. I would clean off the leaves, carve the end to a point, and then put a sugary pillow of goodness on the end and begin roasting. I use the word roasting very generously, because more often than not, the marshmallow would end up burnt to a crisp or falling off into the flames. Once the roasting was done, then would come the real fun for a 7-year-old boy, taking my stick and poking it around in the coals until it caught fire and glowed. It was mesmerizing to hold up the burning end and watch its bright embers against the deep, dark night. It gave such a sense of comfort and joy.
This reminds me of Isaiah 40. Isaiah had just finished declaring doom for Israel, and because of pride and sin, they would suffer captivity and slavery to the King of Babylon, and their palace would be stripped of its treasures. It would be a great time of darkness for the Jewish people. But, as is the way with God, he wouldn’t abandon the Israelites to the darkness. Isaiah prophesied that there would be a time when Israel’s sin would be paid for, and their enslavement would come to an end.
Isaiah 40 was for the Israelites, but it is also for us. In John 1, John the Baptists excitedly calls out to the crowd saying, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John was just as excited as I was as a little boy, to hold up the embers of light against the darkness that had fallen over the world.
There are all sorts of things that can feel like darkness - sickness, our sin, the sin of others, loss, confusion, etc. Look with peace and joy at Jesus for comfort as he glows brightly in whatever darkness you may be facing this season.
—Pastor Todd