A Hope Fulfilled - Advent DevotionalUzorak

The ancient Near Eastern wilderness was a dry and desolate place of rock and sand. However, it was not completely barren. When the rains came, the wilderness could be life-giving, providing pasturelands for flocks. It was a place of both pain and promise. Israel journeyed from Egypt to Canaan through the “great and terrible” wilderness, filled with serpents, scorpions, and thirst (Deuteronomy 8:15). In the wilderness, Israel grumbled, convinced God had brought her there to die, and rebelled. However, in that same wilderness, Israel was guided, protected, and fed by YHWH. It was in the wilderness that YHWH established His covenantal relationship with them (Exodus 19:1-6). It was a place of pain and promise.

As Isaiah speaks to Judah in 40:3-4, they find themselves in a new wilderness of pain — Babylon. The survivors of the siege of Jerusalem and subsequent exile have experienced war, bloodshed, illness, and famine. They have seen their beloved city and temple destroyed. This is a wilderness of pain established by generations of faithlessness and rebellion against the God who guided, protected, and fed them. In this wilderness, God speaks words of tender comfort (40:1-2). “Prepare the way” and “make straight” the way of the Lord! The wilderness of pain is giving way to the wilderness of promise. While there would be a physical road home, to Jerusalem, these imperatives exhort Judah to make spiritual preparations for the arrival of their God.

We live in a world of pain and promise. Each day, we are bombarded with news of conflict, illness, and death. We, like the Israelites, can become focused on the great and terrible world and lose our way, forgetting God’s faithfulness. Rather, as Isaiah exhorts us, we are to cling to the promise of God – that He came in the flesh in Bethlehem, that He meets in the wilderness of life today, and will come again and renew all things — and respond to His promise, by preparing ourselves for His arrival.

Prayer

Almighty, eternal, and faithful God, we thank you and praise you that, while we may lose our way, you remain faithful to your promises. Lord, in the darkness and pain of this world, help us to see where you are at work now, renewing the world and bringing your light where it is darkest. Lord, work in our hearts, smoothing out the rough places and preparing them so that we may meet you afresh today.

Melissa Davis, Ph.D., serves as adjunct faculty for the Regent University School of Divinity.