Longing for Comfort

God calls his prophet Isaiah to comfort his people with words of pardon and hope in the midst of great crisis. This call for comfort comes along with hearing God's judgment of exile pronounced. The nation, because of their sin, will be exiled in Babylon for a time. But God is not done with his people and offers words of pardon and rescue. God comforts his people with the promise that he will visit them to deliver them. Even in times of distress, God's comfort is present and his power is sufficient to save. Like all of God's promises, they are offered to us that we might wait with patience and expectation for him to save and secure. In this time of Advent, let us lift our eyes, renew our faith in him, even in challenging times, knowing that he gives power to the faint and weary.