I had just finished watching the evening news last night… my feelings? Frustration, concern… almost despair! What is our world – what is our nation – coming to? It seems leadership doesn’t have a clue! We flounder trying to figure out the best way to go! We try to solve problems on our own. The Bible is ignored, its values rejected, what it teaches abandoned. Acrimony and accusation fill the airwaves! Where are we headed? The future is more than uncertain – it is frightening! Headed for bed fuming and frustrated!
But this morning I got up, got a cup of coffee, took my Bible, and had a wonderful time of “coffee with the Lord!” Part of my Bible reading today was Isaiah 60 … it was just what I needed! It speaks of a wonderful future day that God will bring about for His people! There is hope! There is a blessed future ahead! God Himself guarantees it!
Here is a condensed version of that chapter… Enjoy! Take heart! Allow hope to captivate your heart!
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising!
“…In my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. …I will make the place of my feet glorious. …They shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. …You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
“I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
“The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified…
“I AM THE LORD; IN ITS TIME I WILL HASTEN IT!” (From Isaiah 60 ESV)
If that doesn’t bring you hope – If that doesn’t encourage your heart – If that doesn’t change your perspective about the future… You probably need to read the passage again… slowly, and pause, reading that last phrase as if God were speaking it directly to your heart!
Coffee With The Lord 