Isaiah 12:2-6

Confidence For What Is To Come

What events do you anticipate during the holidays? Do these events give you hope or fill you with dread? Why?

The holidays are always a mixed bag. Joy mingles with melancholy. Christmas cheer goes together with the holiday blues. Despite these contrary emotions, there are always those events that we look forward to. We enjoy family gatherings, Christmas midnight Mass, the season’s decorations, even a chance to give. No matter how we feel at the moment, anticipation that the holidays bring has the ability to lift our spirits.

Isaiah 12 anticipated better days for Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon. The hope was personal. Events would turn up for the leaders and the people. The desolate capital would rise again to a greater glory. No matter what happened in the past, God’s activity would soon make the past a distant memory.

Some biblical scholars point to Isaiah 12 as a microcosm of the book itself; chapters 1-39 addressed the desolation of the nation at the hands of the Babylonians, while chapters 40-66 encouraged hope in those that would return and rebuild. In the midst of destruction, Isaiah 12 looked ahead to a time when God would be present and act among his people.

This short chapter from the prophet should raise our spirits. Yes, sometimes we would rather ignore the holidays and put off our yearly tasks. But, when we take our focus from ourselves and put it on the coming of Christ, we will see our predicament in a different light. With God, we have hope and confidence in what is to come.

How does your faith in Christ help you enjoy the holidays?