You can trust God’s Word
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
… the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:3, 8)
We celebrate Bible Sunday today, and it is a great opportunity for us to remember and reassure one another that you can trust God’s Word. The Bible Society of Uganda is rallying us to join the noble task of sending the Word of God to the masses at affordable prices and in languages they understand. The Bible Society therefore engages actively in translation and distribution among many other activities. I was baptized as an infant, and the only memory I have of that day was a Good News Bible that I received as a gift and lived to read it years later; there are numerous testimonies of people whose lives have been transformed since they got hold of a Bible in their hands and started reading it. We applaud the Bible Society and similar efforts.
It is also the second Sunday in Advent – the days of commemorating the waiting of the Messiah, and the days of recalling that we await His second coming. Numerous prophecies were fulfilled in the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Isaiah is one of the prophets from whom we hear the Messianic promises: the words in Chapter 40 are used by John the Baptist to describe himself – ‘a voice of one calling, … prepare the way for the LORD’. Isaiah prophesied these words of comfort in Judah soon after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel; it was a season of fear and uncertainty due to the surrounding enemies who were still interested in conquering neighbours. Isaiah prophesied comfort not only in the immediate future but also ultimately – pointing them to a Messiah that would rise according to earlier promises from the days of Moses. This Messiah would manifest some seven hundred years later. The Word of the Lord stands firm indeed even through lengthy periods of time.
The season of Advent is partially meant to help believers focus on the prophecies and promises of God that would eventually be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Isaiah stands tall among the prophets and in his long book that was placed first among the Major Prophets in the Bible, Matthew and other New Testament writers find and quote a great number of significant prophecies that were fulfilled. This helps us to see the faithfulness of God’s Word not only in Isaiah but also in the entire Bible. It is good to have friends we can trust, but God’s Word goes beyond just a friend. Many times we wonder in our limited timeline and seem not to see God’s favourable answers to our questions and complaints; or we seem to run out of patience when we wait on His promises; but one thing for sure is that His Word stands forever; it is not limited by time or space. May this Christmas season bring you back to firmly hold onto the Word of God that is trustworthy all the time.
God bless you as you all