¹“Comfort, comfort my people,”
    says your God.
² “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
    and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
    for all her sins.”

³ Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
    for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
    for our God!
⁴ Fill in the valleys,
    and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
    and smooth out the rough places.
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.
    The Lord has spoken!”

⁶ A voice said, “Shout!”
    I asked, “What should I shout?”

“Shout that people are like the grass.
    Their beauty fades as quickly
    as the flowers in a field.
⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fade
    beneath the breath of the Lord.
    And so it is with people.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fade,
    but the word of our God stands forever.”

⁹ O Zion, messenger of good news,
    shout from the mountaintops!
Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.
    Shout, and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah,
    “Your God is coming!”
¹⁰ Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power.
    He will rule with a powerful arm.
    See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
    He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
    He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

– Isaiah 40:1-11 (NLT)

Recently while I was reading this passage, I was stirred by how moving it is. The passage, which is a prophecy of the coming of Our Lord Jesus, provided comfort for Jerusalem back when it was given, and it can also provide immense comfort for us today. The day I read this passage, I was really in need of God’s comfort in my life. Some of us may be in a similar situation as we read this.

There are various reasons why we may need comfort in our lives today. It could be due to a loss, a disappointment or a series of disappointments even, or guilt at our actions or inactions. Thankfully, God’s comfort is never far away, and the beauty of God’s comfort is that it caters to each of these scenarios and more. As I read this passage, certain sections stood out for me and enabled me to truly experience the comfort that only God can provide.

God tells Prophet Isaiah to speak tenderly, to speak softly. God knew the sadness Jerusalem felt at that time. Reading through the books of the prophets, there were other times when a harsher tone was needed and used, especially when sin was brazen and rampant. Ezekiel 16 is one example of such. In this instance though, God acknowledged their sadness and remorse. He knew that it was His tender voice that was needed. As such, He instructed Isaiah to use that voice, that gentle tone when delivering the message. This shows us the value in not just the message, but in how it is spoken. God not only cares about His Word, He cares about how it is delivered as well. It also shows how important the posture of our heart is. May we remain sensitive and close to God so that we can incline our ears to His tender voice when He speaks.

God knew that for Jerusalem to let go of guilt, it was important for Jerusalem to know that her sins had been forgiven. The Message translation of verse 2 says “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear that she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough, and now it’s over and done with.”

When we have done wrong and our guilt seems to be pushing us away from God, it is worth remembering that God has removed our sins as far from us as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:2). Thanks to Jesus’ finished work on the cross, we have been forgiven. When we ask God for forgiveness and forgive others, we receive forgiveness and we can forgive ourselves as well (Matthew 6:14; 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; 4:32; Colossians 3:13). As such, we do not need to listen to the accuser of the brethren when he piles on the guilt (Revelations 12:10). Instead we can fully rely on God’s comforting Word of forgiveness.

When we have endured loss or disappointment, God points out that the one thing we can hold on to is His Word. “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever” (v. 8). And that Word promises that God will rule, reward and restore. We can therefore draw comfort from the Word of God while we wait, knowing that “The LORD is close to the broken-hearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” As 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Furthermore, we know that we have the Holy Spirit, who is always with us, and who can comfort and guide us when we need it (Isaiah 61:1-3, John 14:26, KJV).

As we enjoy the blessing of God’s comfort, we can continue to wait for restoration with hope, because God’s Word never fails. The restoration may not always look like what we lost, but if we are walking in line with God’s will, it will be far better than anything we could dare to imagine. We can experience that restoration on Earth, whether that be health (Jeremiah 30:17), time (Joel 2:25), property (Amos 9:14), or all round restoration as in the case of Job (Job 42:10-17).

However, even if we do not experience this restoration on Earth, we will definitely experience it in Heaven, and it will be much, much, much greater than anything Earth has to offer. As Matthew 19:29 (NLT) encourages us, “everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.” 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT) also reminds us that “our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” Even our mourning for loved ones, though undeniably painful and heartbreaking, can be laced with hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

I love verse 11 of Isaiah 40 (MSG). “Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, hugging them as he carries them, leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.” Isn’t that just heart-warming? He gathers us lambs in His strong, everlasting arms, and gently leads both the mother sheep and the young to pasture. That means both the nursed and the one who is doing the nursing benefit from His comfort, guidance and leading. This can be of additional comfort to those who are leaders and shepherds of God’s flock, and are experiencing situations where comfort is needed by all. He holds us all so close to His Heart.

I pray that as we reflect on the comfort God beautifully and generously provides, we will continue to stay close to God, dwelling with Him and enjoying the blessing of His unfailing comfort. May we continue to follow His leading, knowing that He will never lead us astray, or to bad pasture. His leading only ever takes us to good pastures. I pray that we will also follow His example, comforting others with the same comfort we have received from Him. As we sow these seeds of comfort where needed, may we receive an abundant harvest of comfort, healing and restoration. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Handel’s Comfort Ye is of course the perfect accompaniment to this post.

Image Source Here.