“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
- Isaiah 58:11
I love advent. I love taking time to remember the story of how God comes to enter into our mess, our broken, our not enough, with his mercy, His beauty, His love that is always more than enough. I love remembering that this is not our home, that even as we remember how Christ came, we also look forward to the day He will come again. We know that even when things feel off or heartbreaking or disappointing here, we can rest assured that it’s because we’re all exiles in some way, trying to find our way back home. I’m grateful for the hope we have because of Jesus, that whatever we are facing, it isn’t the end of the story because of what Jesus did on the cross and because He walked out of a grave.
I love this verse because it gives me perspective on any trial I am facing. It reminds me that Christ has entered our sun-scorched, desert places and walked through them already, so we can have peace that He will guide us through even the most war torn places on paths of peace. He can bring peace and flourishing even in the middle of the desert. Praying we will cultivate this kind of flourishing as we turn our eyes to Jesus and remember the old old story this advent season.
