Psalm 146:5-10 / Isaiah. 35:5-10

You may have noticed that I am preaching from the book of the prophet Isaiah throughout Advent (and will be on Christmas Eve). This week, we read Isaiah 35:5-10.

As with last Sunday’s reading about God’s holy mountain (Isaiah 11:1-10), we are presented with a vision of a future in which there is goodness and happiness. The lions may not be lying down with lambs, but they are kept at a safe distance so we can travel on “God’s sacred highway.” Take a few moments just to enjoy the picture painted here, where disease is gone completely, and all threats removed.

When it says “all sorrows and worries will be gone away” (Isaiah 35:10), take this as an invitation simply to sit before God and name your sorrows and worries. This is not an exercise in self-pity, but an invitation “not to be afraid to be afraid” in the presence of the One who alone has power to set you free.