Take Comfort, God Is Coming

Sunday's Sermon is from Isaiah 40:1-11. Hear the word of the Lord.

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
The Word of God Stands Forever
6A voice says, "Cry!"
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the LORD blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God
9Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
"Behold your God!"
10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

I read these words and my very first thought is...is my heart prepared for the Lord? have I prepared a way for him? Do I let him work in my life?

Am I prepared to be carried by my Lord as a shepherd gently carries a lamb?

I have to admit...too often I want to do my own thing. Carry my own weight. Not be beholden to anyone for anything. And that's not what God calls me too...he calls me to be lead by him, to be carried by him. For my heart to be prepared and waiting for his action in my life.

Tis a hard thing sometimes for me to be. But a thing none-the-less that I am called to.

"Oh my Lord" is all I can cry. "Make me more of a sheep!"
And he listens. When I truly call out to him, my life is changed, my heart is touched, and God carries me long...or sometimes leads me by the hand as I do my toddler when he's unsure the way to go. Thanks be to my God for this.