Isaiah 11:1

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”

The Prophet Isaiah saw hope where despair reigned, sings of life when all looked dead, a new day dawning when darkness lay on the face of the earth. He saw hope in hopelessness.

I love his delightful picture of a stump of a tree that once produced lovely leaves and fruit, now just a dry stump. For some reason it was cut down.  The only sign that it had lived luxuriously is the stump, a reminder of days gone by, when blessing flowed.

Israel in the times of Isaiah remembered the marvels of the past but that only increased their feeling of despair. While in this dark valley God spoke a word of hope when they saw no hope, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”  V 1 Can it be?

We all need to hear this word of promise.  We, too, are surrounded by spiritual darkness and despair.  We can either just close our eyes to what is happening in the world or fall into despair. Both are wrong.

Jesus is to be born, a branch from Jesse and David, who will appear among the dead wood and spring into life, a life that produces unbelievably precious fruit. He has appeared to us and we have believed in him. Wherever he is active he bursts into life and produces fruit for the nations.

When we are overwhelmed by the evil in the world we need to return to this rock of promise, “A shoot will come up.”  Its name is Jesus.