Declaration of Comfort

Comfort, Comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her

that her warfare is ended

that her iniquity is pardoned

that she has received from the LORD's hand

double for all her sins.

-Isaiah 40:1-2

Wow...I read that and was struck by the sheer magnitude of what this message declares. In my quiet time with the Lord, I was brought to this chapter, Isaiah 40. I welcome you along, as I journey through this chapter bit by bit. Oh, the great mysteries that await! As for tonight, I want to submerge myself in these first two verses.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Comfort? how many times has the Lord spoken to my heart to NOT get comfortable? How many times has comfort left me stagnant, and lazy? Surely the same God would demand that I flee anything that even appears to be comforting!! So what's going on here? Yes, the Lord does not wish us to be lulled into a false comfort. These false comforts are the very thing that the prophet Jeremiah cried out against. In Jeremiah 6 and again in chapter 8, we hear a direct word from the Lord delivered through Jeremiah the prophet:

They have healed the wound of My people lightly, saying "Peace, peace," when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown.

Here, God is awakening people to the wrath that is about to come upon them. The religious rulers of the time were claiming that no such wrath existed. God is a loving god, right? He cant be angry with us! We're His favorite! WRONG! God is just. God is completely and fully holy, He is pure, and anything blemished is cast from His presence. Unless we are pure, clean, innocent, holy, righteous, without fault, we deserve to be and WILL be destroyed. There is absolutely no peace for us. The Righteous Judge will not turn a blind eye to our sin, not today, not yesterday, not tomorrow. Not one dot will He overlook. So where does this "comfort" that Isaiah speaks of come from? Although the book of Isaiah is found in the Old Testament and under the Old Covenant, Isaiah had received a powerful revelation of the coming Messiah, and the New Covenant that would be put into effect. What Isaiah is declaring to the people of God is what is ours in Christ Jesus.

Upon belief in Jesus as our savior, we enter into the New Covenant with God. This new covenant is similar to a last will and testament, it required a death to put it into effect, and with it we receive an inheritance. The death, that should we should have received, was paid by Jesus on the cross. Our inheritance is that of being a child of God, which was Jesus's. Jesus died, our inheritance has been placed before us, just as the covenant between God and His children dictated. So how do we respond to this, do continue our lives worried about our provisions? our sanctification? our eternal futures? NO! That would be foolish! God penned this covenant and signed it and put it into effect with His son, Jesus. Who is really God, made man to fulfill the former covenant He had with His people. If God, the author and enforcer of this new covenant says we are free from our previous debt and now children of His, entitled to all that goes with it.

If the son of a multi-billionaire were to read the will of his father upon his father's death, and see all the great treasures that were now his, he would not resort to worry. He would be thought of as a crazy man if he went through his days stressed as to how things would be provided for. How much more crazy of a thought is it to be weighed down by guilt, anxiety, and shame after we are told of the Covenant that has been put into effect through Jesus.

The remainder of the above verses speak of what we are entitled to because of our new position in the Kingdom of God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended that her iniquity is pardoned that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

The war is over, victory has been achieved through the cross. Our Pardon has been signed by the blood that was spilled by our King. And not only that, we have received double from the LORD's hand for all our sins. WOAH! A double portion, even upon inspection of my history?! That's right! My history is HISTORY! It's gone, it's been wiped away, it no longer holds me down. So if you are in Christ, if you have joined with God in His New Covenant, then be comforted! Again I will say be comforted! Dont walk through your days burdened by guilt, dont worry your nights away thinking of a lack in provision. Dont return to the fear of spending eternity in Hell, All the promises of God for you are now in Yes and Amen! There is nothing of His that is not now yours in Christ!

My prayer is that you, the reader, will receive a fresh revelation of the grace and peace that is yours through Christ Jesus. My hope is that you find yourself comforted, as is the will of our Father. In our comfort, we become bold, strong, and full of passion. This isnt the kind of comfort that yields laziness and stagnant pools. This is the comfort that speaks of a freedom that is complete albeit undeserved. This is the kind of comfort that drives us to share the news with friends, family, co-workers, fellow church members, even with strangers. This is the kind of comfort that fuels powerful worship, and passionate prayer. There's nothing lazy and stagnant about it. So let's get comforted, and get rolling. There's work to be done, and what a blessing it is to lay our hands to it!

One more note before I wrap up. I came across a quote today, that reminds me of what my life in Christ should look like: Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things are yours. The great news, is we dont have to Fear AT ALL, we can stand fully in hope, we get to completely wipe many of these things from our vocabulary. How great is our God! Thank you, Jesus.