Spring in Georgia is a beautiful season, filled with flowers, sunshine, and longer days. It feels like the start of something new when I see buds coming forth from my lemon tree. It is so fitting that Easter typically occurs at this change into springtime, a physical reminder of the spiritual reality that Christ came into humanity, died on the cross, and was resurrected in victory for our renewal and regeneration. Yet, this spring season feels particularly hard with separation from people and many in our lives who are suffering from sickness, loneliness, or uncertainty. While I love the sunshine, this season of lent feels heavy laden. So what does it look like to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2), when it feels hard to see him? How can we find renewal when it does not feel like we are being renewed? How does Christ, in His resurrection, speak to the weary?
Isaiah is, to me, one of the most beautiful books of the Bible and speaks prophetically about our Lord Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, and resurrection repeatedly. Take for example, Isaiah 53:5-6 “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Praise God that we are made righteous in Christ and were not left as stray sheep! These are often quoted verses especially during Easter, and in this season I have found even more encouragement as I have understood the context of Isaiah’s prophetic words and read this portion of Isaiah as God’s love letter and promise to His people.
We find in chapters 36-39 that Hezekiah was King of Judah, and he had been one of the good kings in the sordid history of Israel’s monarchy; he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 29:2). He cleansed the temple and restored the house of the Lord. He facilitated a celebration of Passover that was extended to all of Israel, bringing a moment of unity between the two kingdoms. When the king of Assyria was threatening, Hezekiah sought Isaiah the prophet’s help, turned to the Lord for salvation, and God answered with victory. And yet, after all of that, when the King of Babylon sent an envoy to visit the king, Hezekiah’s pride led him to show off his kingdom; “there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them” (Isaiah 39:2). In response, Isaiah issued these devastating words, “Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house . . . shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left” (Isaiah 39:6). The sins and persistent disobedience of the people were too great, and God would send His people into exile in punishment. These were going to be dark days for Israel.
In this season, tired of the pandemic, tired of sin and sorrow, tired of crying tears for myself and others, tired of my own and the world’s selfishness, and struggling to see God’s hand at times, I sometimes feel like there is nothing left. Where is God? The pessimist (or maybe realist) in me expects that the next chapters in Isaiah will be more of the well-deserved burning condemnation for Israel’s sins that is often characteristic of the prophets. But God. One of the most beautiful phrases in all of Scripture (see Romans 5:8). But God is not like us; he does not leave us in our misery. God reaches into our hard and our own exile to bring His grace and love. In the next 15 chapters (Isaiah 40-55:13), Isaiah brings not judgment, but comfort. The very next words after this judgment are, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her all of her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2). When God has every right to pour judgment on His people, he instead brings words of comfort and reassurance that He is still their God and still for their good. These words that were spoken in advance of the exile, knowing the suffering they would ensure, knowing that they would be restored after the exile, and knowing that all of this was a part of the pre-ordained plan for Israel and the world’s ultimate restoration through Christ.
Just meditate on a few of these passages as God speaks over His people in this prophetic word of comfort (and better yet, read the whole things one day!):
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” (Isaiah 40:28-29)
“You [Israel] are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off; fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9-10)
“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do and I do not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42: 16)
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2)
“I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” (Isaiah 44: 21-22)
And then one of my favorite passages from Isaiah 55: 1-3 that says,
“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend you money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good.
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”
Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, God speaks to us in our sin and suffering calling us to come to Him. Come have fellowship with Him. Come find comfort in the very dark days of life. Come not because you are worthy but because Christ suffered, died, and was resurrected out of love for you. Come to the great high priest, Jesus Christ, who through His voluntary suffering relates to our own sorrows and is interceding for us to the Father. Come listen to His word that brings life, truth, and peace. Come not only to Him, but to His body, the church, to find strength and faith in joys and sorrows.
If this Easter season you are struggling to celebrate Him in the way you would have hoped or deeply mourning losses that have happened in this life, you are not alone. Easter has never been about pretty dresses and chocolate eggs (although those can be fun!), but it was God reaching into sinful, broken, and suffering humanity through His Son, in love, to rescue us and bring us comfort. In the end, our ultimate comfort is that through Christ we will know an eternity with Him in a place with no more tears or mourning (Revelation 21:4). As 1 Peter 5:10-11 reminds us, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
I end with a prayer from Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, that focuses us on the juxtaposition of life in Christ with the challenges of our earthly existence. May this encourage and challenge you wherever you are in this season.
“Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depth but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells, the brighter the stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty
thy glory in my valley.”
-Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett, The Banner of Truth Trust.