“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11: 6-9)

I keep a small notebook in my Bible where I record both little and big miracles that God has done in my life. For example: I wrote down how he healed my marriage, got my child back on the right path, or provided the love and support I needed to get through my cancer treatment. I even wrote down the names of people who accepted Christ. I don’t write in it every day. I mark significant life events, often celebrating how God got me through hard times. This book has become a source of hope for me. When I am going through a tough time and feeling hopeless, I read what God has done for me in the past and I am filled with hope that He will get me through this hurdle as well.

I think that Isaiah chapter 11 is another book of hope, except instead of looking at how God has helped us in the past, it describes how He will bring hope to the future. In the sermon series Age to Age, we’ve studied some pretty depressing and disheartening times when the Israelites experienced consequences for disobedience, division, war, rebellion, pain, heartache, fear, and uncertainty.

In Isaiah chapter 11, God gives hope by sharing a vision of the Branch of Jesse- a future leader full of wisdom, justice, and peace who offers a better future. It shows what life will look like when the Messiah reigns on earth. It will be a time so filled with peace and harmony that natural enemies will coexist harmoniously. It will be a world filled with God’s goodness and free of conflict.

Where are you right now? Are you walking through that difficult phase where you need hope? If so, remember what God has done already, and meditate on what Isaiah promises will be in the future. Biblical hope doesn’t promise immediate rescue from hardship and suffering, but God does promise to walk through the fire with us and lead us ultimately to a place of peace, whether we experience that on earth or in heaven.

Or are you experiencing a time of peace right now? If so, enjoy it. Celebrate it. Then record the ways that God has helped you through past hard times. Later, when you reread your journal, you will be filled with hope that God will help you again.

Lord, thank you that we can always have hope, even if our circumstances feel hopeless. We know that you have always been faithful in the past and will always be faithful in the future. We can trust in you!