Fulfillment of God’s Promises
Hundreds of years before Jesus, the people of God were in trouble.
They were stuck in life, unable to help themselves, and perhaps beginning to doubt that God would save them. Have you ever felt the same way? If so, you might relate to the original audience of this verse—the exiles in Babylon.
The Babylonians took their land and sent them hundreds of miles away. Maybe they thought God had abandoned them or that He couldn’t hear their cries. But God is always present and He’s always close.
Isaiah let his people know that God would provide a way out of Babylonian captivity. And God kept His promise, allowing His people to return home.
Generations later, many of God’s people saw themselves as being in a new exile. They were home, but all was not well. So they remembered this verse and its promise—that no matter how dark or desperate our situation might be, God is able to provide a path out of brokenness, heartbreak, and despair into a whole, healthy future.
Little did they know that an even more permanent solution to the darkness they lived in was coming. Isaiah 40:3 is a prophecy that was not only fulfilled when the exiles left Babylon and went home, but was also fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah. Through Jesus, God paved a permanent path for people to come out of darkness and find hope, strength, and peace. God provided a permanent way out of darkness and into light.
So what are you going through? What’s your “Babylon?” It might be a habit you can’t break, a loved one who keeps making self-destructive decisions, or a mental health challenge that feels overwhelming. No matter what it is, God can and will make a way out of brokenness and into life.
Never Forget
As humans, we tend to forget things all the time. Our car keys, our friends' birthdays, our passwords... those things we tend to forget on accident, and it's usually pretty frustrating when we realize what we've forgotten. But we can also forget good things that have happened to us.
When faced with hard things, we often beg God for miracles or plead for His provision. But when we don't get what we prayed for, we can tend to forget what God has already done for us. If you've done that before, you're not alone—the Bible is full of stories about people forgetting the good things God has done.
God has hand-crafted this breathtaking world and chosen the unique times and spaces in which we show up. And even though the world seems to get crazier and scarier by the minute, God is always at work in the mess.
We can fight against forgetfulness today—right now—by remembering that it was God who created this world and filled it with good things—including His people! It was God who ...