The Daily Fountain Devotional Sunday, March 13, 2022
The Daily Fountain Devotional Sunday, March 13, 2022
Sunday, March 13, 2022
TOPIC: (2nd Sunday in Lent) COMFORT FROM ABOVE
TEXT: Isaiah 51: 1-11
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. 2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. 3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. 7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. 9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? 10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
INTRODUCTION TEXT
One of the themes that run through the second division of the Book of Isaiah is the Lord's 'comforting' words to the discouraged people of Judah exiled in Babylon. In our text today, God drew the attention of the weary exiled to the life of their patriarch, Abraham and Sarah, to whom He made and fulfilled His promises (Gen. 12:1-3; Josh. 21:45). In Judah, it would appear that mercy had forsaken the righteous and the prospect of salvation seemed a distant mirage. In verses 7-8, Isaiah tells them not to fear, knowing that the Lord would surely comfort His people.
God comforted Judah and reassured them of His imminent salvation though they suffered in the hands of mere humans (w. 3,5&7). He promised to return them to Jerusalem with singing, joy and gladness. Their sorrow and sighing would be no more (v. 11). You may be going through difficult times now, however be comforted and encouraged when you remember the works of God (Ps. 46.1; 2 Cor. 1:3). Hold on to God, there is the sound of abundance of rain, comfort is coming.
Prayer: Dear God of all comfort, I rely on you today in Jesus' name. Amen