BC Devotion #25 Isaiah 60: Your Light Has Come

In ministry to the downtrodden, there is a tendency to notice biblical passages which speak of a glorious future, a time of relief from present troubles, hope for a better day. Isaiah 60 conveys such a hope .. “Arise shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Later in the chapter we find a collection of phrases that portray a contrast between a painful past and a joyous future. “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated … I will make you an everlasting pride, a joy from generation to generation. Instead of bronze, I will bring gold, instead of iron I will bring silver… Your sun will set no more, neither will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be finished.”

In the middle of this chapter is a hidden gem, like many other treasures I have found in this study of Isaiah. “I will make peace your administrators, and righteousness your overseers. Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.” From my perspective, living out a vocation under God’s calling as a jail administrator, these words are particularly inspiring, as I walk among gates and walls working to foster peace and righteousness in a subculture often characterized by violence and devastation.

I have found that a message of hope and promise is comforting, inspiring, and motivating. The Lord desires to speak into the life of every person, and the words of Isaiah give people hope that their time will come. The chapter closes … “I, the Lord will hasten it in its time.”