Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2

I love Isaiah.  It is as though Isaiah has made the promises of God his message to himself and to Israel, even though he lived several centuries before Jesus came among us and purchased our pardon, our salvation, by the shedding of his own blood!  Isaiah could see that clearly and wrote his wonderful words in that context.   He is almost a New Testament writer!

He lived when Israel was being threatened on every side.  Their land was being divided and robbed by foreign powers.  It was not a nice time for the sons of Abraham, that is for sure.

All that gives poignancy to his writings.  As Israel was reeling and afraid, but Isaiah had good news – the gospel.  The Lord loves his people and will never desert them.

I believe that at the center of all Isaiah’s prophecy was the result of seeing, in his eyes of faith, that God was in Christ reconciling all to himself.  His description of the coming of Christ, even noting his nativity, is a faith-builder.

What is the Lord saying to me?  That I need not be upset nor worried when I hit hard times.  God is God, my God, and will never desert me and I would never be so foolish as to desert Him!

Thank you, Lord, for opening my eyes to see your salvation.  That has been and ever will be, the center of all my hopes and dreams.