I believe this will greatly encourage you today! This morning I was led by the Holy Spirit to read Isaiah 10 - a very interesting read in context to what we are all currently going through. Now, this is how God works with me: A few minutes later, I had a thought come to me that I wanted to write down or record somewhere in my phone. I decided, for time sake, I would just text it to myself. When I opened my text up, I found THIS which I had texted myself a year ago! It was so striking, I decided it would be my devotional blog for today! Just WOW God! A perfect follow up to everything I was feeling while reading Isaiah 10!
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Rod of Jesse
During World War II, Hitler's bombers rained destruction upon London from the skies. Over 15,000 people lost their lives and many parts of the city were reduced to rubble. Yet when spring came, an amazing thing happened. Beautiful wildflowers, many of them thought extinct, sprang up in the midst of the devastation. Botanists concluded that the seeds had laid dormant under buildings and other structures until the bomb blasts exposed them and gave them the opportunity to germinate.
Isaiah foresaw a day when Israel also would be devastated. The word for stem means a stump. David's lineage would be decimated. His mighty family tree would be chopped down to a stub. Yet God would be faithful. Out of that "stump" would come the One who would be the Savior of the world. At a time when civilization lay devastated by the effects of sin, when the rubble of broken lives would be scattered over the countryside, a Branch from a tree long thought dead would appear with the promise of new life. And so it happened. Paul declared, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4-5).
If the landscape of your life has been ravaged by discouragement and despair, look to Jesus, who is able to bring the hope of new life. Perhaps you have lost a loved one and life looks overwhelmingly bleak. Maybe health problems have left you feeling like you're living in a war zone. Or family problems have created craters deep enough to swallow you whole. God will still be faithful to you. Give Him the "stump" of your life and watch Him grow a healthy and prosperous branch. Only the Rod of Jesse can give you such hope. God can bring riches out of rubble.
From backtothebible.org
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