Trust God’s Justice!
Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 3 – TRUST (WATCH HERE)
Recently I realized an interesting line of thought.
I have had a good number of people over the years of ministry ask, “If God is good, why does he allow evil to exist?”
This question tries to reconcile the love of God with the evil that exists. With certainty we can say God is not the cause of evil, that is action that is motivated by and perpetuated by a heart disconnected from the love of God. Evil is the opposite of the goodness of God.
However, the irony is that the same person also then questioned God’s actions at the worldwide flood in Genesis 6-9. How could God wipe out the entire planet with the exception of Noah and his family.
Yet, the description of the world was very evil. Genesis 6:5 says, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”
So God dealt with evil.
It seems like for some God can’t win. He doesn’t deal with evil how I want and I question him and then he deals with evil but it seems too harsh for my tastes. Either side of this God appears to be unjust.
Or is he just the opposite: perfectly just.
Isaiah 11:3–4 says, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
We only can judge based on what we see on the outside. Jesus, however, sees beneath the surface. Unlike human judgment which is often rushed or biased, His is righteous and just. He knows every heart fully (Psalm 139) and judges according to truth, not appearances (Psalm 96:13).
So at some point we must trust God’s justice as completely trustworthy.
Sin must be punished. God will punish sin.
The amazing gift is that God was willing to take the punishment our sin deserved and put it on Jesus. Jesus willingly accepted the role. The cross is where the love of God and the justice of God came together. Sin was punished in Jesus. Grace was shown to us.
Now that might seem unfair.
Grace is unfair. Justice is completely fair.
In answering the question about why God allows evil, we must come to the conclusion that if he fully dealt with evil, I would be a goner – physically and spiritually. My sin has every bit to be confronted and punished by the justice of God.
Yet he is willing to treat us not as our sin deserve but as the grace of God demands.
For this we can be grateful.
For this we can fully trust God to get justice right. We may not always have the same conclusion or think we would act in the same way.
But we aren’t God. Only God is. He is perfectly just.
So, trust him. Trust his justice. Trust his love. Trust his grace for you.
Justice has been served. Your sins are forgiven in Christ!
Reflection: Is there a situation where you struggle to trust God’s justice? How does knowing that Jesus sees your heart bring comfort or challenge?
Prayer: Righteous King, thank you that you see what others miss and judge with perfect truth. Help me trust your justice when life feels unfair and my heart feels misunderstood. Amen.
Trust His Wisdom and Power!
Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 3 – TRUST (WATCH HERE)
Isaiah 11:2–3 “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and power…”
Who is you go to person?
When you need advice? Answers? Direction? Clarity?
Perhaps you have an individual in your life that has consistently shown aptitude to give great advice and guidance.
But sometimes even with a strong track record over time, all it might take is one bad piece of advice and you will move on to someone else. An investment broker fails to sell and you loose a large part of your net worth. A better offer of salary comes from another company and you leave a trusted boss for a bigger paycheck.
Worldly input will always be lacking and never perfect. At some point it will give us a reason to question, doubt, or simply ignore the advice that was given.
That’s what makes the “Branch of Jesse” or Jesus so unique.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him. His character and intellect will be defined by and filled with the Spirit of the LORD. The two will be inseparable and what comes from the Lord Jesus is the same as from God himself.
So what will he give? Why can we trust him…always?
He is full of wisdom. Wisdom in truth rightly applied. Wisdom is able to discern truth from lies and perpetuate a response based on a clear grasp of the facts, the situation, and what needs to happen.
He is full of understanding. Understanding is grasping the truth and its nuances. It’s comprehending the fullness of God’s truth and able to share and explain it.
He is full of counsel. Counsel is the ability to give clear and solid advice to solve problems, give direction on decisions and insight to resolve past hurt and conflict.
He is full of power. All authority is his. There is no power greater than he.
So what does this mean for you today?
In Jesus we have one we can fully trust.
Jesus is not lacking in anything. He can consistently be our “go-to” to guide us through life to heaven. Being full of the Spirit of God he and his Word communicate to us perfect wisdom, understanding, counsel and power.
It’s worth spending time with him as you navigate through life today! When we are uncertain, overwhelmed, or weak, He is not. Trust grows when we stop leaning on our limited understanding and rest our full weight on His perfect wisdom and strength.
Reflection: Which aspect of Jesus’ Spirit-filled life do you most need right now—wisdom, guidance, strength, or understanding? Where might God be inviting you to stop striving and start trusting?
Prayer: Jesus, you are full of the Spirit and lacking in nothing. I confess how often I rely on my own understanding. Teach me to trust your wisdom, follow your guidance, and rest in your strength today. Amen.
Trusting God’s Unlikely Ways
Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 3 – TRUST (WATCH HERE)
Isaiah 11:1 “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
“I thought it was dead.” After a winter freeze in Texas a few years ago, our lemon tree seemed to have bit the dust. All the branches died and there was no sign of life. Until there was. That spring little shoots came out of the stump and now the tree that is is bigger than the one that died off (Unfortunately we haven’t had a single blossom on it…so the illustrations stops there!).
Isaiah speaks of a stump that seemed dead, but wasn’t. The line of David seemed to be a dying breed. Those that were bloodline were some, but those that had the faith of David were fewer. Yet what God promises through Isaiah is that out of this seemingly dead stump, a Branch would come and establish itself with strong roots and bear fruit once again.
I don’t know what will happen with our lemon tree. It may have lost its ability to bear fruit (if there are anyone who might know what to do…let me know!), yet the branch from the stump of Jesse would guarantee fruit.
Not the place you would expect the Lord to show up. Yet, in this statement God speaks hope that would be found in an unlikely place. Not a towering tree. Not instant restoration. But through a small, tender, and easily overlooked shoot, God promises new life that begins quietly, almost invisibly, in the ruins of what once was.
The hymn Where Shepherds Lately Knelt captures the wonder of it:
“In that unlikely place I find Him… sweet newborn babe, how frail! … a still, small voice to cry one day for me.”
To think the one who would plead on my behalf would arrive in the world, not with force or spectacle, but as a baby, dependent and vulnerable, laid in a manger.
Trusting God often means trusting His way of working. And His way is rarely what we expect.
Trust, at its core, is placing your weight on something because you are convinced of its reliability. Yet God asks us to place our weight on what looks fragile: a shoot from a stump, a child in a feeding trough, a quiet promise spoken into a season of loss. Everything in us wants visible strength, quick answers, and clear signs of success. God offers something better, something slower, smaller, and deeper.
Trusting God’s unlikely ways means believing that He is at work even when we cannot yet see the fruit. It means trusting that what looks insignificant now may carry eternal weight. It means believing that God is faithful not only in victories, but in beginnings that seem barely alive.
If God can bring the Savior of the world through a stump and a manger, He can bring hope through whatever feels cut down in your life.
This Christmas, you are invited to trust not in what is impressive, but in what is promised. To lean not on what is visible, but on what is faithful. The shoot is growing. God is not finished. And new life is already on the way.
Reflection: Where in your life does something feel like a “stump” rather than a flourishing tree? What would it look like to trust that God can still bring life from that place?
Prayer: Lord, you bring life from what looks finished. Teach me to trust your work in small beginnings and hidden places. Help me believe that you are still growing something good, even when I cannot yet see it. Amen.
It’s hard to believe!
Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 2 – HEART (WATCH HERE)
Jaraslov Vajda penned in his hymn, “Where shepherds lately knelt, I come in half-belief…”
We know the shepherd’s reaction to the angels’ announcement of the birth of Jesus was fear. Once the fear was calmed and the message was heard, their hearts had curiosity. “Let’s go see this thing…which the Lord has told us about.”
The Lord’s word which came through the angelic messengers compelled the hearts of the shepherds to go find the baby “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Were their hearts fully convinced?
Were their hearts fully prepared?
Was the fear in their hearts totally gone?
Perhaps not.
But they came. They came to the manger to find the one who was “Christ, the Lord.”
For years they and their ancestors had been waiting for the promises of Isaiah and the other prophets to be fulfilled. Perhaps the “half-belief” was simply the fact that they could not believe that THEY were the ones that get to experience first-hand the culmination of the Spirit’s prophetic work.
For years there was speaking of spiritual healing and the end to “warfare” over sin and its consequence. Perhaps the “half-belief” was the consideration that this baby lying in the manger WAS the comfort and ultimate victor over sin.
For years there was a desire to ensure the scales of justice with the Lord would be balanced by the good works of mankind over the grace of God. Perhaps the “half-belief” was the reality that the greatest work this child came to do was to have his hands pierced with the nails we deserved.
For years there was the promise of a King greater than David who would rule on his throne forever. Perhaps the “half-belief” was the discrepancy between the vision of a palace and the reality of a manger which held the promised King.
Maybe your heart echos the “half-belief” Vajda surmised the shepherds had. Maybe your heart has doubts, fears, uncertainties and things that you feel are incongruent with how you think God should show up in your life.
But the very one in the manger invites us to come home, even in “half-belief.” He calls our hearts to curiosity to know more about who he is. He calls our heart to certainty as he fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah and more. He calls our heart to peace as he is called “Jesus,” the one who saves us from our sin. He calls our “half-belief” to full belief that he is our Savior…your Savior; our King…your King; our Comfort…your Comfort.
Christmas is not about arriving full of faith. It’s about coming with what you have and leaving with what Jesus gives.
The shepherds returned, “glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard.” Their “half-belief” changed to “full-belief” when they were home at the manger.
The same will happen for you.
Apply: What part of my faith feels “half” right now? What truth of Christmas might move the “half” to “full”?
Prayer: Lord, I come as I am. Even if my faith is weak, I trust You to hold me. Draw me close this Christmas. Amen.
God Reveals His Glory at Christmas!
Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 2 – HEART (WATCH HERE)
Isaiah 40:5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
It’s hard to describe the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Nothing can prepare you for walking to the edge of the rim and seeing the massive canyon open up below you. Even though someone may have told you what to expect and how it would look, the glory of it wasn’t fully realized until you stood there yourself and witnessed it personally.
Nearly 800 years separated the writing of Isaiah and the writing of the Apostle John. But something happened in that span that Isaiah said all people WILL see and John says, “We HAVE seen.”
God gave the words to Isaiah who wrote and spoke them to God’s people. There was something behind the words of comfort that were spoken (40:1-2). There was a purpose to the preparation of hearts in 40:3-4.
“The glory of the Lord will be revealed.”
Perhaps the stories of Moses and the pillar of fire and cloud would come to mind as moments where the glory of the Lord would be seen. Perhaps the grandeur of Solomon’s temple made a glorious impression that many saw.
Yet the Lord had spoken: “ALL people will see it together.”
There would be no doubt and no one that would miss it.
The glory of the Lord would be revealed, seen and recognized.
Many after Isaiah may have said, “Is that it?” or “Is that God’s glory over there?”
There may have been glimpses, but John records the sighting of the reality:
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
God didn’t just speak comfort from heaven. He sent Comfort into the cradle of Bethlehem.
He didn’t just suggest a smooth road to be prepared, he sent his Son to speak the truth of grace to smooth the very hearts he would enter.
The glory of God wrapped in the skin of humanity.
The glory of God experienced in the grace of the forgiveness he secured.
The glory of God heard in the truth he proclaimed.
It wasn’t flashing thunder or galactic light show. It was the Son of God stepping into our world to bring us grace and truth.
The glory of God wasn’t a distant concept, but now a present reality.
Every time we experience grace and hear his truth, the glory of God reveals itself to us.
Every Christmas is a moment to treasure the Glory of God that was revealed to us full of grace and truth.
Apply: Do I see Jesus as God’s glory sent for me? Do I treasure the grace and truth he brings?
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for coming into this world and allowing us a glimpse of God’s glory. Let your grace and truth fill my heart with faith, awe, and peace. Amen.