[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Monday November, 28, 2005

[bludwig@zlc-aa.org]

Daily Devotion Monday, November 28

The devotions this week are written by Christine Carlsen-Jones the Director
of Adult Discipleship at Zion. As we begin the season of Advent, she will be
exploring the marvelous text of Isaiah chapter 40.

 

Isaiah 40: 1-2

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her that she has served her term, That her penalty is paid, That
she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

 

Historical setting:

After years in exile, a prophet is called by God to preach comfort to the
people.  God is restoring Israel.  The Hebrew exiles will leave Babylon, as
their ancestors left Egypt long ago, and return home in a procession through
the wilderness between Babylon and Zion.

 

In case you didn’t know: 

The Hebrew word translated as comfort  means “to feel compassion and pity”
and encompasses the idea of repentance and sorrow.  The English word comfort
comes from a Latin word meaning “to strengthen”.  In this reading, the
prophet proclaims to the Hebrew exiles that their time of repentance has
come to an end, and that they will be comforted, strengthened, and borne up
by God who puts an end to their sorrow.

 

Points to ponder:

For our Hebrew ancestors ‘comfort’ in these verses meant change.  Even
though they were allowed to live fairly normal lives in Babylon they had
been taken there by force.  Now they are set free to return ‘home’ to Judah.


 

What is our “comfort zone”?  For most of us it means stability, not change.
This message of hope, however, promises radical change.  To comfort is to
encourage, strengthen, and empower for change and action. 

 

When has change been most welcome in your life?  In what ways might you be
‘imprisoned’?   What release do you seek?    When have you resisted change
you knew was good?  What does it mean to you to hope and trust in God to see
you through times of change, to rely on God’s strength and comfort along the
way?

 

Prayer

Thank you, God, for changes in my life.  Remind me of your promise to be
forever faithful and patient with me.  Remind me to hope and trust in your
comfort and strength to see me through in times of change.  Remind me to be
open to your leading me into new places.   Amen.


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