We are coming to the end of the series, and the next article will be the last of the insights that I want to share. This and the final post contain God’s words of encouragement and hope and a good way to conclude the series.

Isaiah 40:1-5  “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

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 a plain.  And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ ” NIV

This is a wonderfully well-known passage of scripture and a pointer to both the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It contains much richness, but I want to pass on just one insight.

The first part of the passage is an instruction to Isaiah to comfort and speak tenderly to God’s people. Yes, this was in relation to ancient Israel, but as with much prophecy, it also applies to us today. Our sin has been paid for in and through the Lord Jesus. We, all born-again believers, no longer stand under the judgment of God. Paul stated this boldly and decisively with, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1). For us, comfort and tenderness outweigh judgment.

Given this wonderful truth, why do so many preachers spend so many sermon hours castigating and piously correcting their fellow Christians? Of course, there will be times when we need to be corrected and admonished, but even then, comfort and tenderness should motivate and season a preacher’s words and actions. The world is a hard place for so many children of God, and right now, we have so many things to worry about, avoid, and self-correct. We live in a world rushing towards self-destruction, and in countries that are competing with each other to reach the implosion first.

What we need, more than anything else at this time, are words of encouragement, hope, and loving correction.

Let me quote Paul one last time. In 1 Corinthians 14:3 he gives the purpose of prophecy, and I consider preaching to be a subset of prophecy because it should be God’s words to us. “Everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” The TEV phrases this as, “The one who proclaims God’s message speaks to people and gives them help, encouragement, and comfort”. Therefore, a dominant aim of current preaching should be to convey the tenderness and kindness of God towards his children.

Isaiah 43:1-2  states, “But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” NIV

I won’t go into the historical context of this passage because I believe that the words hold as true for us today as they did for the ancient Israelites.

Fear not! Don’t fear the deep waters of life, or its raging rivers, or fiery experiences. Why not? Well, if the sentiment of so many Christians is any gauge, it must be because God has promised to save us from these things. No, he hasn’t! He has already saved us within those things  – he has redeemed us and we are his – and he will save us as we live through the deep water, torrents, and fires of life. Just as many folks expect the Lord to ‘rapture’ them before ‘the tribulation’, they expect him to snatch them out of their current tribulations. This is not what the Lod promises.

There is nothing abnormal or unacceptable in asking God to cut our painful experiences short, but we have no right, either biblically or logically, to demand this as our rebirth right. Even Jesus in his humanity cried out to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42-43)

Hebrews 13:5-6  “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”   So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” NIV