Who’s excited about the arrival of spring? Warmer weather and sunshine. Flowers in bloom. (At least here in Texas, with apologies to our northern friends who shoveled snow on the first day of spring).
Speaking of which, if it still feels like winter, don’t worry, it won’t last forever. That message of dark despair turning to bright, blooms of new life is exactly the message of the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament.
The book of Isaiah can be divided into two parts. Chapters 1-39 deliver God’s warning and message of judgment for those who reject him. Chapters 40-66 proclaim God’s faithfulness for his repentant people, promising his forgiveness and new life.
Did you know?
- The first part of Isaiah has the same number of chapters as the Bible has books in the Old Testament: 39.
- The second part of Isaiah has the same number of chapters as the Bible has books in the New Testament: 27.
- The middle chapter of the second part of Isaiah is chapter 53, one of the clearest, fullest presentations of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ as the satisfactory sacrifice for our sins.
- In the New Testament, Jesus quotes both parts of Isaiah, attributing them to the prophet as the author.
The early chapters of the second part of Isaiah contain powerful “spring-like” promises for us. They inspire our faith and hope when we feel burdened, ashamed because of sin, or lost like in a blinding blizzard. For example, God says,
“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you” (Isaiah 42:8,9).
The God who created the heavens, the earth, and us out of nothing, he is the God of new things. The God who died and rose from the dead, he is the God of new things. The God who gives us the gift of rebirth, born again into his holy family of believers by baptism, he is the God of new things.
And I love how God says that he must announce them to us ahead of time. God is so excited for his promises to be true in your life, so excited for winter’s darkness to pass, so excited to see what he brings to blossom in your life, that he can’t help himself. He has to tell you before they even happen!
It’s always springtime when we trust in the God of new things!
PRAYER: God of new things, teach me to trust in you like I look forward to springtime. Make things new in my life, and in this world, the bless us with your salvation and bring us closer to you. Amen.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Listen to the song “Spring Sings” by Christian artist Ellie Holcomb. Here is the Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/0AIAI0gEUkN4di7wx4nPov?si=dad6f477017445d9
