Isaiah is an Old Testament prophecy about the destruction of Israel. Even though God took His people out of darkness and set them apart to be an oasis of truth in a brutal and harsh world, they were often too weak to stand alone. As is common for humans, they were influenced by the secular culture around them and succumbed again and again to its idolatry and paganism. Though the Lord was repeatedly merciful to His people, His anger burned, and He ultimately allowed them to be captured and carried away to Babylon. While their season of exile lasted for seventy long years, out of their darkness, hope dawned again when He brought them home to Israel. Later, He raised up from their midst a Messiah who would be the light and salvation of the entire world, and He birthed fresh hope from a situation that once looked as lifeless as a stump. The shoot that sprang up from the dead wood of Israel’s past was a new kind of King — One who would rule in people’s hearts and whose hallmark would be a peace that triumphs over every external circumstance. In fact, because He still reigns today, even in a season that has cut down and destroyed many from a worldly standpoint, His love is continually prevailing in the vast sea of human affliction.

My friend, the Lord is bringing a shoot from the stump in your life! Since everything He touches sprouts the hope of His healing power, He is showing you His glory by reviving that which seems the most dead and lifeless. Though you feel certain that what you’ve lost will forever dampen your days, His promises remind you that He delights in redeeming even the coldest, darkest, and most painful circumstances and cultivating from them something incomprehensibly glorious. The Prince of Peace is planting seeds of overcoming faith in your heart, and they will carry you — against all odds — to a brighter and more prosperous future.