DAILY BREAD READING (Published Daily by Our Daily Bread Ministries)
MAY 22, 2026
READ: Isaiah 41 (vs. 17-20)
MEMORY VERSE
I will set . . . the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know . . . the Lord has done this. Isaiah 41:19-20
BACKGROUND
Those who drive along Highway 18 in western Oregon each fall are greeted with a delightful surprise from the tree-covered hillside flanking the road: a giant smiley face.
The cheerful face is only visible in the autumn when the Larch tree needles turn yellow, contrasting with the surrounding, dark green Douglas fir trees (which create the eyes and mouth). A lumber company planted the three-hundred-foot-diameter face in 2011 as part of an effort to replenish the timber they’d harvested.
Isaiah invites us to know God as the one who brings life to desolate places. He reminded the Israelites during the barrenness of their captivity that God “[makes] rivers flow,” can “turn the desert into pools of water,” and grow “the cedar and the acacia” in the desert (Isaiah 41:18-19).
God does these things not solely for His (and our) delight; He plants junipers, fir, and cypress “so that people may see and know” (v. 20) that He authors all and will ultimately redeem all—even those places thought to be a “wasteland” (v. 19).
Though we may not glimpse a face smiling back at us from a hillside, all of creation can remind us of God’s redemptive power over our world and our individual circumstances—even in the wake (or fear) of devastation. Let’s seek His face as our source of hope and joy amid our struggles.
Kirsten Holmberg
INSIGHT
In chapters 1-39, Isaiah warns an unrepentant people that God will use the Assyrians and the Babylonians to discipline them for their idolatrous unfaithfulness.
But beginning in chapter 40, the prophet extols God’s grace and covenantal kindness and prophesies a future restoration and glorious blessing. As the sovereign God, He has the power to save, protect, and restore (40:10-17).
The prophet also reminds them of God’s loving, providential care. The Israelites have a very special relationship with Him, having been graciously chosen to be His servant (41:8). God won’t abandon them but will keep them close and care for them (vv. 8-10, 17).
He’ll bountifully provide for them and turn the arid desert into a land of flowing water and great productivity (vv. 18-19). Like the people in Isaiah’s days, creation reminds us that He is “the Lord” (v. 13), our “Redeemer” (v. 14), “the Holy One of Israel,” and Creator (v. 20).
We can trust Him with the circumstances in our lives.
K.T. Sim
APPLICATION
When has God brought joy or hope to a place of sadness in your life? How does creation direct your focus to Him in times of hardship?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“Though we may not glimpse a face smiling back at us from a hillside, all of creation can remind us of God’s redemptive power over our world and our individual circumstances—even in the wake (or fear) of devastation. Let’s seek His face as our source of hope and joy amid our struggles.”
PR’s TAKE
Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17
“For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Isaiah 55:12-13
PRAYER
“Thank You, dear Father, for Your creative and redemptive work in the world.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“BEAUTY FOR ASHES”
I sing the love of God, my Father,
Whose Spirit abides within,
Who changes all my grief to gladness,
And pardons me all my sin.
Tho’ clouds may lower, dark and dreary,
Yet He has promised to be near;
He gives me sunshine for my shadow,
And “beauty for ashes,” here.
He gives me joy in place of sorrow;
He gives me love that casts out fear;
He gives me sunshine for my shadow,
And “beauty for ashes,” here.
I sing the love of Christ, my Saviour,
Who suffer’d upon the tree,
That in the secret of His presence,
My bondage might freedom be.
He comes “to bind the broken hearted;”
He comes the fainting soul to cheer;
He gives me “oil of joy” for mourning,
And “beauty for ashes,” here.
He gives me joy in place of sorrow;
He gives me love that casts out fear;
He gives me sunshine for my shadow,
And “beauty for ashes,” here.
I sing the beauty of the Gospel
That scatters not thorns, but flow’rs,
That bids me scatter smiles and sunbeams
Wherever are lonely hours.
The “garment of His praise” it offers
For “heaviness of spirit,” drear;
It gives me sunshine for my shadow,
And “beauty for ashes,” here.
He gives me joy in place of sorrow;
He gives me love that casts out fear;
He gives me sunshine for my shadow,
And “beauty for ashes,” here.
