Our dear friends and partners,
I write this a day after returning from Ukraine. A country living in gloom and anguish. The gloom of fresh graveyards filled with shiny new tombs from gate to gate. The gloom of a war that seems to have no end in sight. The gloom of losing a generation to the battlefield. The gloom of broken boots and garments covered in blood. The anguish of sending loved ones to the battlefield, many to never return. The anguish of never knowing where the constant missile bombardments will land. The anguish of not knowing what dawn will bring.
The promises of Isaiah 9 contain the beacon of hope. It speaks of the One who takes us from gloom to glory. The One who ushers in a new dawn for those living in the gloom of anguish. The One who breaks the rod of oppression. The One whose government of peace, righteousness, and justice will have no end.
God’s precious promises in Isaiah 9:1-7 speak firm hope to those rocked by tumult. Faith in these promises is a radical call to live in Biblical hope. To not give in to present circumstances. To hope in the Son and wait for him. To believe that God shapes the present and controls the future with His promises. Isaiah is brimming with faith-filled confidence as he writes to a people living in gloom and anguish.
The Incarnate Jesus is the living fulfillment and focus of these promises. He is God’s salvation - Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus fulfills these promises and brings them to fruition through his life, death, and resurrection. As soon as He showed up in our world, our glorious future as God’s people was assured. That’s precisely why eight days after the Incarnation and thirty-three years before Easter, Simeon looked at baby Jesus in the Temple and said, “my eyes have seen your Salvation.”
When Jesus entered our world that is filled with gloom and anguish, he said in the midst of it, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Faith in Jesus is the pathway from gloom to glory. During this season of Advent, may God’s precious promises give you deep joy and hope no matter what you are facing.
Merry Christmas to you all,
Sean and Jenn
3 Timothy
