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.