An ancient Chinese story goes like this:
A farmer had one old horse that he used for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer’s neighbours heard about it, they sympathized with the old man over his bad luck. “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” said the farmer.
A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” said the farmer.
Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone agreed that this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, who replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”
Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and forced every able-bodied young man to go fight in a bloody war. When they saw that the farmer’s son had a broken leg, they let him stay. Everyone was very happy at the farmer’s good luck.
“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
Life can a lot like that. Sometimes it seems like things are going well, and at other times, things seem to be going badly. And we let those things dictate our feelings and our outlook on life. When things are going well, we’re happy and we think God is with us. If they are going badly, we get discouraged and think that God must have abandoned us. We end up being tossed around by our circumstances.
We all have times in our lives when we feel like we’re in a wilderness: whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual, or even a bit of all three. There are times when we find it hard to trust in God. We struggle to see the bigger picture. We search for our escape but it’s as if we’re in a maze and we keep hitting dead ends. We are dislocated people – lost in a world that is constantly changing where the ground is constantly being moved from under our feet.
The prophet Isaiah was writing around 700 BC. He announced good news for dislocated people. The nation of Israel had been caught up in the messy world of international politics. Babylon had extended its reach, marching relentlessly across hundreds of miles of territory that wasn’t theirs. The Israelites were forced into exile and captivity. They no longer had their independence and freedom. They believed that God has deserted them. Their faith was rather too closely linked to their military prowess and their success as a nation. They believed in a God who gives, but not in a God who takes away.
They needed a wakeup call. They needed to see that God is present in the defeats and in the victories; that God is with them in valleys and the mountaintops; that God is with them in the wilderness, and not just in the land of milk and honey.
And so in exile, Isaiah brings a great message of hope: good news for dislocated people. And like many passages of prophecy, it was relevant over an extended time span. In fact it is still relevant to us today – 2700 years on.
First, Isaiah announces COMFORT.
“Comfort, comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem” (vv.1-2).
God is a God who comforts us. And this comfort comes in the form of a promise. A promise that God will act, that there is hope.
For people whose lives are shattered, cheap comfort is not only a waste of time, it’s cruel. You need comfort that is rooted in reality.
Why do you trust your life with a restaurant? Have you ever thought how much power a chef has?! There could be poison in your potatoes; your chicken might not be cooked properly; the waiter could have spat in your soup. But when you go out for a meal do you ever think about any of those things? No – you assume – you have faith that you will be served something edible, and hopefully even enjoyable. And you trust that restaurant because of its track record. You trust it because it probably has those ‘Scores on the Doors’ showing you how good their hygiene is. If they’d been poisoning people, they would have been found out and shut down.
Why should we trust God’s promises, God’s comfort? Simply because of God’s track record: laid down not just in the Bible but in the countless lives of Christians from down the generations who have seen God’s faithfulness at work in their own lives. Isaiah says in verse 8 that the word of God stands forever. If it feels like you’re in a wilderness – even if you’re not in a wilderness – there’s no better place to get comfort than God’s word.
Secondly, Isaiah announces the POWER OF GOD.
Not only is God caring. Not only will God bring us into relationship with him. But God has the power to act in our lives now.
“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places as a plain.” (vv.3-4)
The idea of every mountain becoming low and every valley being filled in often sounds quite boring to me. I like mountains and valleys; I like varied scenery. But I think Isaiah is making a couple of points. He’s saying that God physically has the power to move mountains and fill valleys. Nothing is too difficult for God. No obstacle in your life cannot be removed by God, if it is God’s will.
Finally, Isaiah announces the GLORY OF GOD.
“And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (v.5)
In our hardship we are comforted, we are forgiven, we have power to overcome our challenges, and through all of these the glory of God is revealed. We see just how strongly God’s love burns for us; we see God’s holiness and perfection; we see the lengths God has and continues to go for us in calling us to him. God’s glory has so many facets. It is like a diamond and it’s absolutely perfect. It is the pearl of great price. It is everything we could and will ever want.
As his followers, we can know that glory and share that glory. The apostle Peter stood in awe of Jesus many times in the Gospels. We too are invited to stand in awe of God’s otherness, God’s greatness; we bow down and then we get up and then – because it’s not just for us – we get up to share the news of that wonder and light and majesty with others.
This Advent, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate God’s coming in Jesus, let’s give thanks for the COMFORT of God, the loving embrace that he so graciously extends to us. Let’s remember the POWER of God, at work even in the most despairing of situations. The light cannot be extinguished by the darkness. The candle may flicker, but it will never go out. And let’s experience with joy the GLORY of God, that shines from the star above the manger, that shines from the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, that shines in and through our lives so that all mankind together will see the wonder of the King of Kings and Lord or Lords. Amen.
