Who do you trust?
Maybe it’s a dream you’re holding onto, or a promise you’ve been given. Maybe you’re waiting on a person to change, or a situation to shift. Maybe you’re waiting for a prayer to be answered, hope to arrive, joy to replace sorrow, or clarity and hope to replace confusion and chaos.
It can be difficult in the midst of pain, loss, and suffering to patiently cling to the One who promises to come through for us.
Isaiah was a prophet to the leaders of Judah during a time of national corruption and spiritual destitution. He foretold of his people being dragged away into exile because they were trusting in idols, political rulers, and other momentary things.
But Isaiah also reminded the people that God was sovereign, God would bring them out of exile, and God would one day send a savior to rescue them forever.
Isaiah didn’t live to see all his prophecies fulfilled—but he held onto the hope that he prophesied about, and his words to the people of Israel can continue to encourage us today…
Trust in the Lord even when circumstances don’t make sense.
Trust in the Lord even when you’re suffering.
Trust in the Lord even when your heart is breaking.
Come what may, trust in the Lord.
Seasons may shift, situations may change, people may abandon, desert, or betray you—but the one who remains constant throughout history is the God over history. The Lord is unchanging and immovable. Nothing can stand against Him or overcome Him.
He knows what it’s like to suffer because He suffered for us. And so we can trust God because He keeps His promises—and He has promised to fight for us, never leave us, make a way for us, love us, protect us, and remain faithful to us.
Since God is our salvation, we can trust Him and not be afraid.
So come what may, let’s choose today to trust in the Lord.
Day 24 of the reading of the gospel of Luke
Merry Christmas Eve
Luke 24
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, ...
The Fulfillment of Promises Made Long Ago
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”
To modern ears, this verse is a familiar, warm, and comforting centerpiece of the Christmas story. But to those who first heard these words from the angel on the night Jesus was born, every word was electric, buzzing with fulfilled expectations.
A Savior.
Born in Bethlehem, the town of David.
The Messiah.
The Lord.
For centuries, Israel had lived with a promise. The prophet Isaiah had declared, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given… and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jeremiah had spoken of a righteous branch from David’s line, a King who would reign wisely and bring justice (Jeremiah 23:5). Micah, too, had foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, David’s town (Micah 5:2).
So when the angel announced this birth to shepherds under the night sky, it wasn’t just...