I Will Make a Way…

In the book of Isaiah, chapter 43, verse 15, there is this beautiful line where God says, “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your Sovereign…”

Take a minute and let that sink in… Do we trust that Holy One we worship is Sovereign?

2020 has been a year of incredible loss. For some of you, it may have been six months or longer since you’ve hugged a child or a grandchild. 6 months or longer since you’ve sat at a dinner table with close friends.  Many of you have experienced intense loneliness. There have been birthdays and graduations and senior proms and weddings and funerals canceled, postponed, or changed dramatically. Even more significantly, over the last six months, some of you have lost loved ones to this terrible virus.

There has been incredible loss. I’m not sure we’ve fully grieved yet. Our whole way of life has been altered. And we have no idea for how long.

Now, in that part of the book, Isaiah was writing to a community in exile. Israel had experienced one of the most devastating and defining events in their history. Babylon – the major superpower of that day – had swept in and laid siege to Jerusalem. They destroyed the city, burned the temple, and carted off many of the citizens to live in Babylon.  To say that it was a dark time for Israel would be a huge understatement.

But here in verse 19, into the despair, God speaks further, “I will make a way in the wilderness…”

Notice what God does not say. God does not say, I will take away the wilderness. God does not say, “I am going to remove the challenges and the trials and the heartache of life.” No. But God does say, “I will make a way…”

I will make a way in the wilderness.

I pray that even during these uncertain and difficult times, you would trust that the Holy One we worship is sovereign.  And may you come to see that God will indeed make a way forward.

Let us pray: You are the God of new beginnings, new life, new possibilities. You are also the God who makes all things new – even us. We trust you with our situations, with our deepest concerns and anxieties. Meet each of us where we are this day. Lead us and guide us even through the wilderness; in Jesus’ name. Amen.