Sunday, July 12, 2009

Comfort And Praise

Focus verses: Isaiah Chapter 40

I cannot read the 40th chapter of Isaiah without hearing the music of George Frederick Handel's "Messiah" oratorio.

The bass starts with "Comfort ye my people." And the chorus swells with "The Glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."

There is such comfort and joy and praise in this entire passage. It is merely a whisper of the comfort and joy and praise that awaits the faithful in the presence of God.

Occasionally we get glimpses of the glory of the Lord, the full glory of the Lord. Anticipating the full presence and glory of the Lord is the joy and hope of every Christian. The heart swells to bursting. Our minds cannot comprehend.

But Isaiah has given us a picture. One we can hold in our hearts against the day when we can see with our own eyes, hear with our own ears the chorus of angelic praise, feel with our senses the presence of the Lord, immediate, overwhelming, and completely surrounding us.

This is an invitation to fulfill our desires for knowledge of and closeness to the Lord. Remembering this, we can hope and anticipate whatever God has in store for us.

Father, God,

We thank You for this glimpse of what heaven must be like. Grant that we may hunger and thirst for You and You alone. Help us to be single-minded in our search for You.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

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