When You Need to Know There Is Hope

Isaiah 44:1-5 (ESV)

“But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
2 Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Digging into God’s Word

When I first graduated from college, I entered the teaching profession. I stayed exactly 10 weeks. My resignation after 3 weeks didn’t exactly make friends of administrators and colleagues. My misery was palpable: I had just spent 4 years training for a profession in which I now knew I would shrivel if I didn’t leave. I used a sleep-aid to get a few hours of restless sleep at night, and I suffered through seemingly endless days of anxiety. From my 22-year-old perspective, those 10 weeks were interminable.

I wonder what situations you are facing today. Don’t we often go through times of uncertainty that seem never-ending?

• The long, anxious wait for the lab results of a medical test.
• Entering a new life stage, perhaps recovering from a divorce, or seeing your children take to their wings and become independent, or getting older and wondering what those years might bring.
• Persevering through relational difficulty or a job search that keeps running dry.
• Sometimes our uncertainty is not that foreboding, but it is a nervousness about an upcoming event.

Isaiah 44 and 45 are beautiful passages of scripture. Isaiah lived in the southern kingdom of Israel, called Judah. The people of the northern kingdom were taken captive by the Assyrians in 734 B.C., and Isaiah, along with the people of Judah, lived under constant threat that the Assyrians would overtake their country. Constant worry. Constant dread. During Isaiah’s lifetime, most of Judah did fall, but in 701 B.C., the city of Jerusalem was spared by an angel of God (2 Chronicles 32:21).

Look at those dates. Essentially, Isaiah and the people of Judah lived in fear for thirty years.

Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would stand against the Assyrians, and it did. But he also prophesied that another world power, the Babylonians, would take Jerusalem captive. In fact, Jerusalem later fell to King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., and the people were marched across the desert to the Babylonian captivity.

The news from Isaiah was foreboding. Yet in the verses we read today, Isaiah 44:1-5, Isaiah was given a word of hope from God to deliver to the people.

Yes, their city would be destroyed. Yes, their nation would be taken captive. But look at the promises of hope:

• God, who had formed them in the womb, would help them (v. 2).
• Their offspring would know the Lord and have His Spirit and His blessing (v. 3)!
• Their offspring would multiply and prosper (v. 4).
• Despite captivity, their nation would survive, and their descendants would know the Lord (v. 5).

Wow. Take that in for a moment. Those are monumental promises of hope for a people living in fear. What threads of hope do you need from God today?

Digging Deeper

Today’s passage is rich in application. We could do so much with it! I encourage you to spend several days reflecting on God’s promises. Perhaps reflect on or journal about one of these questions each day.

1. What uncertainty are you facing? It might feel minor or almost silly, or it might be deep and foreboding. If you don’t have any uncertainty, thank God for the sweet spot you are sitting in! Those are times to treasure.
2. Reread Isaiah 44:1-5. What did you learn about God that is helpful to you in your situation? Ask Him to reveal His character to you.
3. Isaiah prophesied about the return of God’s people to Israel 150 years before it happened. Take that in for a minute. These promises of hope would not be fulfilled for a long time, but they would be fulfilled. How does that help you in your prayers today?
4. Read verse 5 again:

This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Wouldn’t it be neat to do something creative to mark yourself as the Lord’s? Following are some ideas to get you going:

• Write “I am the Lord’s” on sticky notes and place them around your home or your desk at work.
• Make a craft project that reminds you Whose you are.
• Find that piece of jewelry that reminds you that you are God’s child and wear it.
• Write a poem about the hope you find in the Lord.
• Sing or play a song that comforts you with the hope that you are the Lord’s. A lot of hymns come to mind: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” or “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb.” For a current song, you might find “Remind Me Who I Am” by Jason Gray and play it.

Extra Info!

This is the first devotion in the series I Am the LORD: Isaiah 44 & 45. If you’ve missed previous series, you can find them here:

• Abraham
• Getting to Know Jesus (a study of Matthew 3 and 8, with a dash of Mark)

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