Comfort

Read Isaiah 40-41:10
 
Isaiah 40:1-5 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.” 3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4 Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!”
 
A promise reigns throughout the Bible. The Glory of the LORD will be revealed for eternal life. This is the great comfort and hope for all who await the LORD’s presence. Regardless of any earthly affliction, we can know God’s eternal comfort is ready for those he calls his own. This is Isaiah’s message to Judah, a nation troubled in their affliction. One day the trouble will end as God fully demonstrates his glory to his people.  
   What is the Glory of the LORD? God’s glory is visible in many ways, from each breath we take to the profound order of the universe. And the greatest evidence of his glory over you is Jesus Christ. The Old Testament prophets pointed to Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension. Everything in the New Testament shows that reality. From Jesus’ ascension, God’s glory is swelling over the earth as the Holy Spirit plants and grow Jesus’ church.
   In his life Jesus came through the wilderness to glorify the Father. With his teaching, his healing and his forgiveness Jesus revealed God’s grace. In his death Jesus submitted to the Father’s will to be the perfect sacrifice. In Jesus’ resurrection God’s glory has burst from the tomb to demonstrate eternal life is for all who believe. In Jesus’ ascension, God’s glory shows the believers’ ultimate destination.
   Then the Holy Spirit came to turn hard hearts soft and dark lives to light. In this spiritual light, we anticipate Jesus’ coming again. On that day God’s Glory will be revealed in bright light, great sound and incomparable majesty. All humanity will see him as he comes on the clouds.
   Oh, yes, my friends, live in the confidence that the Glory of God has come to earth, ascended to heaven, and is coming again. Revelation 1:5-7 He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. 6 He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. 7 Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!
   How wonderful is our comfort to know our God’s glory reigns forevermore.