Thursday, December 2, 2004
Isaiah 40:1-2 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.
HELP IS ON THE WAY
We live just a few blocks from the local volunteer fire station. Several times a week the lights flash and the sirens wail by our windows as the emergency vehicles head out on a call. Lately, when they pass by I will stop for a moment and say a prayer that the rescue will arrive in time to do good for the victim. When a person is in trouble, it's nice to know that help is on the way.
But sometimes I feel like I am the one who needs to call the rescue squad. My problems aren't always of a medical variety, but I wouldn't mind seeing some lights and hearing some sirens to make me feel like there is hope for rescue in my life. I get myself into plenty of bad situations because of my sin, and I need help. Does it ever happen that way to you? Things you say or do-- or don't do-- snowball into problems that are seemingly out of control. We get ourselves into messes with our families, our friends, our co-workers, and our God. During those times of despair and frustration, wouldn't it be nice to know that help is on the way?
Advent tells us that very thing. It tells us that Jesus Christ is on the way. He might not come with lights and siren, or maybe He does-- there was the angel chorus on Christmas Eve, after all. Christ comes to help; to fix the mess of your sin; to pardon your iniquity; to suffer, die, and pay for it; and to apply His healing mercy wherever and whenever it is needed. 